cain killed abel

"As a black conservative Republican hoping to challenge the nation's first black president, Cain makes for an interesting storyline"

This is coded racism at its finest. Chuck Shiflett says the story is interesting because Cain and Obama are black. Why does there race make it interesting. Maybe because Chuck Shilett is so racist he only sees black politicians as an interesting novelty since they can not possibly be intelligent enough to be legitimate contenders. He starts off his article with "dont get me wrong, I like Herman Cain". Well you probably like the "interesting" monkeys in the zoo too, yet you would write articles about how they can not handle the media scrutiny and are not smart enough to be president. Yet you wistfully do acknowledge that two monkeys, oops you meant black men, battling it out would be "interesting". Welcome to the world of coded racist journalism. If Chuck took a lie detector test and was asked one question- "Chuck do you believe that the black race is inferior to the other races intellectually?" he would answer No! and he would fail every time. That is because Chuck does not hate blacks, he likes them, he just thinks that the black race is a mentally inferior race of sub humans. But do not worry, at least he thinks we are "interesting".

I think you are reading too much into the "right of return" thing. I think Cain had a temporary mental black-out on the term. (Oh gee, I hope that's not "coded racism.") Clearly, he had thoughts on the topic once he got back on track.

I also think it is a bit much to expect more in-depth answers from the format the SC GOP debate took. How many people were up there? In any case, the response times were very short, and I felt that Cain's answers were above par for the field he was in. Perhaps because he is more familiar to you, having had the chance to vote for him before, you were disappointed that you didn't hear more that was new to you. But for most of America, the GOP debate was an introduction to the contenders.

I think the window is still plenty open. These announcements are coming out very early compared to only a few cycles ago. I feel like there is lots of time for voters to get to know their candidates well before voting.

An otherwise attractive guy for the GOP primary, but also deeply confused on many things, besides the 40 + year debate on the 'right of return'. He's constantly getting the Constitution confused with the Declaration of Independence in his rhetoric too. He was fortunate in that Chris Wallace was more than gentle with him during the interview. And no, normally the media is not that friendly either. I guess Herman might have waited a few days and listened to Netanyahu's speech before Congress today. Now there's a man who knows how to use rhetoric well.
JMP

todd maxwell,
I am a black conservative. I do support Herman Cain, so you are way off on your appraisal of what I think. I am sick and tired of hearing liberals and conservatives say they think Herman Cain isnt legitimate and he cannot win. Their reasoning is garbage and at the bottom of the garbage lies the inherent belief that many whites have that the black race is genetically inferior to the white race in terms of intellectual capacity. This racist rhetoric comes from books like the bell curve, websites like stormfront.com, and the liberal and conservative media. Liberals attack Herman Cain often because they fear they will lose their precious race card and often just because many of them feel he will be twice as inferior as Obama(because he is twice as black). Now not only does Cain have to deal with attacks from the Liberal media, he is being attacked by conservative elites like Karl Rove and many others who say that he has no chance of winning because they know everything and to hell with what those pesky voters think anyway.

Mr. Crow, I don't want to start an argument here but I gotta tell ya, not all white conservatives are racist. I have to take offense to your comment that many whites feel the way you say. I also think Mr. Cain is one of the most intelligent men I have ever seen or heard and I am definitely white. I do think he is going to have a hard time because of not having any political background but that's why I like the man so much. BTW, I would like to say that I think I am the first person in Bartow County to have a Herman Cain for President sticker on my truck. Something that I am proud of because a lot of people, of different races and genders, are asking me who Mr. Cain is. It is my pleasure to tell them. Keep this in mind Mr. Crow, there's more of us(voters) then there are of them (media). Put the word out and don't worry about the media. You and I and the voters can take care of that come Nov 2012.

Jim, your comments aren't worth replying to. You have either deliberately or through ignorance distorted everything in my column. It isn't me that finds the black vs. black angle interesting ... it is America's media always looking for an angle to exploit. As I stated in the article I voted for Herman in 2004... and I would vote for him again if he were a candidate for congress or U.S. Senate. The point is that he is not ready for prime time for a presidential race. He lacks in depth knowledge on many issues, especially foreign affairs. As one who has trained candidates for state legislature, congress, and U.S. Senate, I can tell you from experience that the media will eat Cain alive once they begin to get serious. Chris Wallace gave him a pass. He won't be that lucky in a few weeks/months. The real racists are those who cry racism whenever a white person criticizes a black candidate. This has nothing to do with race... Cain is just one of many of all races who have dabbled with a presidential run this year but aren't yet thoroughly prepared. So Jim, please reread my column... slowly if you need to do... and try to absorb what I actually wrote.

Perhaps Mr. Crow (if that is his real name) would be kind enough to enlighten us as to what other "racist code words" ought to be avoided. Thanks to him, I can add "interesting" to the list that already includes "articulate," "intelligent," "qualified," and “appealing,” all of which I used to think were compliments. Then there are some not-so-nice words, like “mediocre,” “inexperienced,” or “arrogant” which I’ve only lately learned all trace their origins to the antebellum south.

Besides those, I am stumped by some supposed code words, like "professor," "one term," "freedom," "tax cuts," and “celebrity.” In fact, it has recently been pointed out to me that “African American” is code for “black,” and thus racist. There is no word for the sensation of a spring coming loose in my head that accompanied that revelation.

Last, I can think of a handful that make some sense, but only because you can see what’s being twisted, like "welfare," “states’ rights,” "food stamps," and “community organizer.” Heck, just mentioning that the president plays basketball apparently serves no purpose but to remind people that the man is black.

But I’m sure that list is incomplete, so I am soliciting Mr. Crow’s help. Oh, and by the way, you can have “uppity.” I’ve come to accept that word as racist, even though it was routinely used in my family to describe some distant aunt who married rich.

In other shocking news Herman is currently doing quite well in the very early polls (more than a few #2s), and Hines Ward just won 'Dancing with the Stars'. So add 'twinkle toes' to the list too.
JMP

Herman Cain is a man of honor, integrity, and moral character. As a former President and CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, Mr. Cain proved himself a man capable of turning around a failing company, on the verge of bankruptcy, and returning it to profitability. His 3 point problem plan (1. Work on the right problem, 2. Ask the right questions, 3. Remove barriers to success), which he used as CEO, was proven to work, as the results speak for themselves. As President, his 5 point economic plan (1. Eliminate capital gains tax, 2. Eliminate tax on repatriated profits, 3. Reduce the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%, 4. Issue a year long payroll tax holiday on both employers and employees of 6.2%, 5. Implement the Fair Tax) will spur economic growth not seen in over a generation.

Mr. Herman Cain is an unwavering supporter of Israel, and his problem solving ideas will be a boon for our foreign policy. A clear, concise and well drawn out plan will put an end to the quagmire in Afghanistan and Iraq, which we so desperately need as a nation.

2012, I think most folks who pay attention really like Herman and he has had a sucessful business career. However Shiflet is right - I've seen him stumble several times when asked basic questions about government or foreign policy. Personally I'd like to see him as the VP, but then we'd open up a whole can of worms that Republicans put the black man in the VP slot while Democrats put one in the top slot.

WAKE UP EVERYBODY !!!!!!
THE GUY IS NOT QUALIFIED TO BE PRESIDENT !!!!!!
ENOUGH SAID !!!!!!

Herman Cain is indeed a man of honor, integrity and moral fiber. He just needs to be better prepared to answer legitimate questions about matters that he will have to deal with if elected President. This is far less about being critical of the man than of openly strategizing with him to put him over the top

Hey Chuck. If you remember, that grueling vetting process never materialized when Obama was running

Herman Cain is without doubt the most capable and qualified candidate that the Republican Party has to offer for 2012.