So in the Republican sweepstakes for the presidential nomination, Sarah Palin has ended the speculation by declaring she’s not a candidate. Likewise, Chris Christie is going to stay on the job as New Jersey governor. Rick Perry is sinking in the polls, Mitt Romney has yet to catch fire and here comes Herman Cain, don of Godfather’s Pizza and, as it turns out, tough love for his fellow Americans.

In a week that saw his poll numbers climb, the same week that Americans took to the streets to protest Wall Street breaks and persistent unemployment, Cain went on record with this warm and fuzzy statement: “Don’t blame Wall Street, don’t blame the big banks, if you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, blame yourself! It is not someone’s fault if they succeeded, it is someone’s fault if they failed.”

Wonder if that’s been poll-tested as a 2012 mantra for the GOP?

— The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky., Oct. 7