Frum: Cain Can’t Be President

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Conservative commentator and former special assistant to President George W. Bush used his CNN column on Monday to lay out his argument against Herman Cain.

“If Herman Cain had served as governor of Georgia, or even mayor of Atlanta, he’d be a valid and credible candidate for president of the United States,” Frum wrote. “But here’s the trouble: he has not held those offices or any other executive office at any level of government.”

Frum believes “the president’s most fundamental job is to run the government” which requires “a record of successful accomplishment in public office” from a presidential candidate. The GOP base has been hostile to candidates with just such a record during this primary season, a fact that hasn’t escaped Frum’s attention.

“This time, apparently, the competence primary has been canceled. Too bad,” he writes. “In the depths of the worst economic crisis since the Depression, competence is needed more than ever.”

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