Herman Cain has repeatedly cited a “poem” that is actually Donna Summer’s theme song for ‘Pokemon: The Movie 2000.’

Dan Amira at ‘New York’ magazine points out that Herman Cain signed off from last night’s GOP debate by quoting an unnamed “poet.”

Remarked the presidential candidate, “A poet once said, ‘life can be a challenge, life can seem impossible, but it’s never easy when there’s so much on the line.’” He’s used those lines before, says Amira, first in his official presidential announcement back in May, and then again in his June speech before the Republican Leadership Conference.

Cain is so fond of this “poem,” in fact, he even included it as an “inspirational quote” on his Economic Freedom Coalition website, where he says the lines are from the 2000 Olympic Games’ closing song.

As the closing song to the 2000 Olympics says…
“Life can be a challenge. Life can seem impossible.
It’s never easy when there is so much on the line.
But you can make a difference.
There’s a mission just for you.
Just look inside and you will find,
Just what you can do.
The power of one begins with believing
That you hold the key to all of your achieving.”
Be good at something.

Well, Amira Googled the lines and found something amusing, bemusing and entirely confusing: the poem is actually lifted from a track, “The Power of One,” recorded by disco queen Donna Summer especially for the 2000 ‘Pokemon’ movie.

Amira hypothesizes that Cain may have seen the movie with his grandchildren when it came out in the summer of 2000 and “was greatly moved by the ‘The Power of One.’

“After a decade had gone by, [Cain] recalled the song and wanted to use it in his campaign, but he forgot where he heard it, mistakenly pegged it to the summer Olympics, and was too busy fighting the scourge of Sharia to look it up online,” Amira offered.

That sounds completely feasible. It’s just as likely, of course, that Cain’s simply not that bright. I mean, I love Summer’s 1975 hit “Love To Love You Baby,” but she falls short of “poet.”

As for the Olympic lie: I’ve given up trying to understand Cain’s actions and motivations. They’re either shockingly discriminatory, blatantly self-serving and just plain bizarre. Guess where this Donna Summer detail falls.

Since it’s Friday, and surely no one wants to watch Cain’s poetic renditions, here are some videos of Donna Summer’s greatest hits, all of which would be perfect for Cain’s long-shot campaign.

1. ‘Bad Girls, 1979:’

2. ‘She Works Hard For The Money, 1983′

3. ‘Last Dance, 1978:’