It's a meaningless gimmick. I doubt that even Cain thinks it would work.

Romney had it right in the last debate: it sounds like the price of a pizza. "999" is a catchy and appealing number (that's why so much stuff really is priced at "$9.99." Why didn't the math come out at 10-10-10 or 17-8-3?

And evidently there was no math. CNN reports that the plan is so radical that no one has the slightest idea how much revenue it would generate compared to current taxes, especially once you cut out all the current credits, deductions, adjustments, etc.

Finally, Pres. Cain would find it 100& impossible to get such a plan through Congress - even a top-heavy Republican Congress - for all the reasons mentioned on this thread.

And Cain must know it.

The 9-9-9 plan is brilliant strategy because it's easy to remember, it's specific, it's radical without being "left-wing", and it sounds "fair" to millions because "everybody gets taxed the same."It gives Cain a cause he ca crusade for while his rivals just repeat the same old "spineless socialist spendthrift Obama" line and bash each other for not being far enough to the right.

Another reason for Cain's popularity is that he says clearly what he means without doubletalk, doesn't rely on personal zingers, doesn't insult the President personally, etc., etc., etc.

The man's dignity and sense of focus is refreshing, support him or not.

And remember, as Ronald Reagan noted, "Politics is just like show business."

You just don't get paid as much. (A U.S. President would have to stay in office 46 years to make what one voice actor on the Simpsons makes in a season. The marketplace has spoken.)