Mark Steyn gets serious about Herman Cain's levity. Nobody would be taking Cain seriously if they weren't so so resistant to Mitt Romney. It seems like the better he performs and the worse his opponents do, the more desperate conservatives get to find someone else. They call him a liar and a flip-flopper and compare him to Michael Dukakis and all but campaign for Obama to defeat him. I know he's not the ideal candidate, but the idea that he'd become President and then tear of his mask and laugh demonically as he renounces his entire campaign is just surreal. The Weekly Standard featured a cover with Mitt as a wind-up doll in 2008. People seem to be looking for reasons to be opposed to him. On the other hand, I tend to be skeptical of someone who people fall in love with, FDR, JFK and Barack Obama for instance, because they then ignore warning signs and fail to look past appearances. It's not as though I'm not influenced by appealing personalities and charisma. I was seriously leaning Herman Cain's direction until his last debate appearance, when his 9-9-9 plan started to get tiresome. So I looked it up on his website, and realized that it included a federal sales tax. I also noticed that he had a tendency not to make the case for his promises, as when he was asked how he thought he would get Congress to pass his plans and just dismissed it by saying, "Oh, it'll pass," without giving us any reason to believe that, or when he was asked what would keep Congress from raising the rates he proposes, he said, "Because I'll be President and I'll stop them." What kind of answer is that? The only way I can see that happening is with a Constitutional amendment, which, coincidentally, doesn't require the President's signature. Anyway, all the candidates have deep flaws for conservatives, but that means they have to or should start to consider which one has the best shot at defeating Obama. Only Romney has done the organizing, fund raising and detailing his proposals. His performances in the debates have been winning every time out..You don't have to love him, just recognize that he's got it all over Obama and listen to him instead of dreaming about their dream prince or princess. The reason the tea party movement was successful is that it included a lot of moderate, independent voters who were alarmed by the TARP followed by Obama's crazy spending. It doesn't mean that they've all become Evangelicals or agree with every right wing position. This is an alliance of convenience and conservatives shouldn't presume on it. Being too rigid will drive them away. Stick to your winning issues. I almost wish Romney would quit trying to defend the Massachusetts health care plan he designed and signed, and just say "That was then. This is now." The point is that the ABR (Anybody But Romney) crowd are hung up on it and will not let go. The best thing he could do is just refuse to get drawn into it, although when you're being badgered by Rick Perry not letting you respond, that's not simple. He's made two points over and over. Obamacare is not what he designed, and states have powers that the federal government doesn't or shouldn't have. He should just say, I've answered this question many times and I don't want to waste further time on it. He could answer all the charges, but it takes a point by point refutation that loses the audience and that's the trap.