CONCORD, N.H. — After surviving his first round of scrutiny as an upper-echelon Republican presidential candidate, one question lingers for the surging Herman Cain: Is he for real?
The former chief executive officer of Godfather’s Pizza was peppered with questions during his first debate since winning last month’s Florida straw poll, and, for the most part, he emerged from the Dartmouth College forum unscathed.
But for Cain, who has never held public office, now comes the tricky part — convincing Republican voters that he is more than a mere novelty candidate in a field that has left many conservatives unenthused.
Speaking to the New Hampshire state legislature Wednesday, Cain drew by far the loudest applause as lawmakers clamored for the “Hermanator” to take to the podium.
“You know you must be doing something right when you get a lot of arrows in your back,” Cain said.
And then Cain made his most direct appeal as the viable alternative to front-runner Mitt Romney.
“Those of you who don’t support him, I’m asking for your support. And those of you that do support him, I’m asking you to reconsider,” Cain said.
Cain has climbed to second in the polls in New Hampshire, but remains an unknown quantity for many voters. His 9-9-9 plan, which would impose a flat 9 percent tax on corporate and personal income and create a new 9 percent national sales tax, is suspect among some conservatives who question the plan’s viability.
“Herman Cain — that 9-9-9 guy, right?” asked Matt Lewis, a bartender from Hanover. “I don’t know. I think I’d feel more comfortable with him sitting on one of my stools than running the country. Is he ready for prime time?”
But Mary Walters, a Concord stay-at-home mom, said: “He is so different that he might just work.”
Seemingly unthinkable in recent days, Cain drew the attention of the Democratic ticket Wednesday when Vice President Biden attacked Cain’s tax plan as a boon for the rich.
“It’s totally consistent with Republican philosophy, that what you continue to do is, continue to cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires and continue to add a burden on the middle class,” Biden told ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
But a potential clash with the far right is more troublesome for Cain. Tea Party voters abandoned Texas Gov. Rick Perry in droves over the issue of immigration and now many of those conservatives are wondering about Cain’s support for former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan — a disparaged figure in conservative circles — and his plan for a new national sales tax.
As Rep. Michele Bachmann and Perry learned, ascension to the GOP’s top tier has been short-lived of late. And now Cain is being intensely probed about the soundness of his 9-9-9 plan and the credentials of those who devised it.
University of Georgia political scientist Charles Bullock, who for years watched Cain unsuccessfully test political waters, was skeptical of his presidential candidacy.
“I find it hard to believe that the wheels don’t fall off at some point for him,” Bullock said. “The enthusiasm for him is more of a lack of enthusiasm for others. Voters may find that what is in the package is not as attractive as the wrapping.”
