Herman Cain on CBN News

Honestly, I started TiVo-ing the CBN News [Christian Broadcasting Network] in hopes of capturing another batshit-insane comment by alleged Christian, the allegedly Reverend Pat Robertson. Imagine my surprise when I saw Pat interviewing someone making sense, even from the point of view of a conservative black Republican.

Herman Cain has written a new book entitled They Think You're Stupid: Why Democrats Lost Your Vote and What Republicans Must Do to Keep It, but here's a sample of what he said with Pat Robertson:

You make sure you have a clear definition of accountability [for Katrina reconstruction projects], whether that's at the local level, the state level, or the federal level, just like we needed clear lines of accountability and action and decision-making when this storm hit. Let's not make that mistake again. We know that all of those lines of communication didn't work the way that they were supposed to. ... The American people deserve to know the accountabilities and who is accountable for what. — syndicated radio host Herman Cain, speaking to Pat Robertson on CBN News, 2005-09-15

Cain and I disagree on a number of issues, obviously, but we share some important common ground. Both real major parties all too often treat the public as if we were simpletons. They appeal to the lowest impulses of greed and fear, focusing only on what is right in front of our faces. Any claims to a grand vision of the future are tainted by counter-claims of hidden agendas. The Democratic Party did lose the confidence of the American people in its vision, in its competence, in its honesty, in its wisdom, and in its moral clarity. Electing (cough) "leaders" like Rick Santorum [Republican Senator from Pennsylvania] and George W. Bush is more than a bit of an overreaction to that loss of faith in the Democrats, though, and the Republicans are dreaming if they think they've locked down their majority status any tighter than a fishing boat in Biloxi.

We know that you don't care about poor Negroes, Mr. Bush, but Herman Cain is neither poor nor stupid, and he's not going to support your party if you "stay the course." I don't think you'll buy him off quite as easily as you did Armstrong Williams.

[You don't know who Armstrong Williams is? Watch The Daily Show from 2005-01-10 (guest: John Grisham). Williams is a conservative black television commentator who accepted $240,000.00 from the Bush administration to promote their "No child left in school behind" initiative, but Armstrong did not tell his viewers that he was being paid to present a particular point of view.]