USA - Huh? Why are obviously weak candidates so beloved by the American public?

He has been ridiculed for his superficial "9-9-9" tax plan, mocked for his policy gaffes and penchant for breaking into song, and cannot shake off a decades-old sex scandal that grows bigger by the day.

Yet pizza mogul and United States presidential hopeful Herman Cain continues to defy the political odds by scoring well in opinion polls and outshining far more established rivals.

The latest Washington Post-ABC News poll, conducted after news emerged that he allegedly sexually harassed several women in the 1990s, puts the businessman at the No. 2 spot in a field of eight Republican contenders.

Some 23 per cent of registered voters said they support him, a virtual tie with the 24 per cent that the front runner, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, garnered in the same poll.

Mr Cain's prominence in the Republican presidential primary is all the more bizarre considering the other unflattering things he is known for - from "joking" about wanting to build an electric fence on the border with Mexico to bungling foreign-policy questions on the Middle East and China. He did not seem to know, for instance, that China has had nuclear weapons since the 1960s. He also openly dismissed the need for the leader of the free world to have extensive foreign-policy experience.

Meanwhile, an old video clip of him belting out a classic John Lennon song to strange new lyrics went viral on the Internet. "Imagine, if there's no pizza... imagine there's only burger, it's frightening and sad," Mr Cain crooned at a performance in 1991, when he was the chief executive of Godfather's Pizza.

These embarrassing episodes did not seem to hurt him one bit. If anything else, his popularity shot up during this period, while serious candidates like Mr Jon Huntsman, a former ambassador to China and governor of Utah, floundered in the polls.

The same Washington Post-ABC News poll, for instance, showed that support for Mr Cain more than tripled between the middle of July and late last month, rising from 7 per cent to 23 per cent. Support for Mr Huntsman remains in the low single digits.

So, what accounts for Mr Cain's unexplained ability to defy political gravity?

Experts here regard this "Herman Cain phenomenon" as a unique product of the times - one made possible not just by voters' widespread anger with the ruling elite and a rightward turn in American politics, but also by a new media landscape that has upended many of the old political conventions.

In the past, said Professor Elayne Rapping of the University at Buffalo in New York, candidates like Mr Cain simply would not get far because the avenues for reaching voters were limited to newspapers or public-speaking opportunities.

But that has changed irrevocably with the rapid proliferation of news outlets, instant Internet-based communication platforms and portable devices which keep people connected to political news and commentary around the clock.

"I have never seen anything like this," added Prof Rapping.

Mr Cain's unlikely rise is also a warped reflection of voters' frustration with conventional politicians who have been unable to fix the country's myriad economic woes, noted Professor Ross Baker of Rutgers University.

He told The Straits Times: "When people are desperate and think conventional politicians have failed them, they become willing to accept candidates who would be regarded as fringe candidates under normal circumstances."

Mr Cain is hardly the only political lightweight to have achieved national status in recent years. The other notable example would be former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, who became an overnight sensation after she was nominated as the Republican vice-presidential candidate during the 2008 presidential campaign.

She was - and still is - widely panned by the media for her flimsy grasp of politics, geography and world affairs.

Last year, a handful of unconventional political neophytes - from a consultant who dabbled in witchcraft in her youth, to a Nevada lawmaker who espoused highly controversial views on gun ownership and immigration - ousted veteran Republican incumbents and came close to gaining national political office. So are unconventional politicians like Mrs Palin and Mr Cain a sign of things to come?

Prof Baker noted in jest that Mr Cain could one day become America's answer to Mr Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister notorious for his gaffes and 'bunga bunga' sex parties.

He added: "Mr Cain is popular for the same reasons that Italians find Berlusconi appealing. They feel they can understand him, his idiosyncrasies and so on.

"As long as people feel conventional politics has failed them, there will be a place in their hearts for Herman Cain."

The imposition of some basic requirements for aspiring commanders-in-chief might seem a logical remedy, but experts say such a move would never be tolerated in the US.

"In our democracy, you really have to trust the electorate to weed these people out," said Prof Rapping.

"There is a certain entertainment factor to this whole thing (with Mr Cain), and people might just say this is good fun. I don't think the Republican Party is going to be foolish enough to go with this guy, no matter what the polls say."

Chua Chin Hon

The Straits Times

Business & Investment Opportunities

YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Consulting, Investment and Management, focusing three main economic sectors: International PR; Healthcare & Wellness;and Tourism & Hospitality. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programs. Sign up with twitter to get news updates with @SaigonBusinessC. Thanks.