Was Cain Faithful?

Herman Cain is a sycophant held up for independents and moderates as an alternative to Obama to say, yes, true conservatives come in all colors. Secondarily, his visibility counteracts the claim that Republicans and the Tea Party never fully bought in to diversity and harbored fears of a black takeover of power--manifested by a run on bullets right after Barack was elected with shortages lasting for six months and public rallies where attendees banished guns.

Clinton is a distraction; this incident combines race and sex. OJ is a better conceit (except for the murder), or Dean Rush daughter's marriage to an African-American, or Thurgood Marshall's quip when often asked if one of his parents were white; "yes, my mother." Ouch. The point is the verility of public black men is in play, whether the crush of the Obama girl, or the extremely scatological web posts about the First Lady intended to insult Obama's manhood by his being unable to defend her virtue.

Race and sex aside, there is another major point missed. The tradition of race early developed proscribed roles. Rewards went to the most sincere, and actual word usage described their ideal. In SC, my home, the Angolans known as the Gullah were slightly suspect despite being letter perfect. Ibos internalized the heirarchy faithfully. After the civil war, freedman/women who remained loyal were spoken of as the "faithful."

When I integrated my hometown high school in 1968, I would be called to give the right answers to visiting officials to avoid trouble. In return, I was protected. So Cain being "strong" is the new term for collaborators standing against their community's historic interest. He never mentions the struggle for social justice, or Colin Powell, Condi, or Samuel Pierce, to whom Reagan's reaction describes the attitude Cain expresses even when he isn't singing.

But Cain forgot rule one: never embarass your white folks. Clinton notwithstanding, Cain will be chastened if the victims are not to blame.