Herman Cain Ad: '9-9-9: The Movie' Is a Risky Return to Roots

Herman Cain is returning to the message that launched him to the top of the polls in late September, before sexual harassment allegations and a series of foreign policy gaffes brought him back down: his 9-9-9 tax plan.

On Monday, Cain's campaign released a six-minute animation called 9-9-9: The Movie -- Slaying the Tax Monster, which likens the current tax code to an overgrown monster.

It's not even a cool monster. [It's] a dorky, mechanical monster held together by a bunch of tattered red tape and driven around by squirrelly bureaucrats, the movie says. For far too long, we've been the hapless victims of a monstrously dysfunctional tax code. It's time to throw that baby out with the bathwater and then bleach the tub.

The movie goes on to list the sweeping economic improvements voters can expect if they elect Cain: What would happen if we scrapped all 82,000 pages of the current tax code and simplified things with Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan? The economy would accelerate faster than Barack Obama on his way out of town. We would add $2 trillion to GDP and create 6 million jobs. Business investment would increase by a third. Wages would go up by 10 percent. At the same time, federal revenues would go up 15 percent.

The return-to-roots strategy of the movie makes sense in that Cain's 9-9-9 plan is the most eye-catching part of his platform, and he has done best in the polls while focusing on that plan. It is no secret that his experience is in business, not politics, and his campaign has always been focused on his economic prowess as a former CEO.

On the other hand, returning to the 9-9-9 plan may reinforce the growing perception that Cain is a one-trick pony, especially since the shift in strategy comes on the heels of several foreign policy missteps and unclear statements on hot-button issues like abortion. The economy is first and foremost on voters' minds, but that does not mean they will be satisfied with a candidate who only has a strong economic plan.

Watch 9-9-9: The Movie below, and let us know what you think in the comments.