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Veronica Hendrix
*Herman Cain’s train has been derailed. And so have his delusions, I mean dreams of grandeur.
His rise was anomalous. He certainly wasn’t held to the same stringent standards of excellence, experience and integrity as most African American males are routinely held to that have meteoric aspirations, especially in politics. Yet he garnered mystifying support and held down some solid poll numbers before, well, the rug was yanked from underneath his feet.
His fall was classic no doubt. It was at the hem of a woman, make that plural – women. Now he’s out of the running with a whole lot of emotional capital strewn about as carnage. He’s got more than “splanning” to do with the Mrs and his family. It’s been an ugly end for the flamboyant and boisterous Cain. Here’s hoping he can repair the damage to his family in the days, months and years ahead.
But Cain’s surge was dizzying. His likability was mystifying. The remorse I heard from a few folk around me about Cain suspending his campaign was truly genuine. They felt he would be good for the country because he seemed like a real guy and had some good ideas. Albeit, none of them looked like me or hail from my tribe.
Propped up as the panacea for what ails the nation, Cain convinced a lot of donors to believe in him well. He raised a surprising amount of money – over $2 million. But when his 9-9-9 lives ran out, checkmate – the game was over.
In the end Cain was fodder that went too far. It was time to stop the charade. I don’t know who stopped it, but deflating his balloon was a well orchestrated move. The nation may have put an actor in the White House, but were they really going to give a black pizza company executive the keys to the White House?
Nope. Cain was a pawn in a game in which someone else was moving the pieces. He was the other party’s answer to Obama, his antithesis – the anti-Obama if you will.
You see Cain’s limited intellect, lack of poise and diplomacy, political inexperience, social ineptness, brashness and oftentimes sense of being uncouth and unlearned fit into the a commonly held world view of African American men. President Obama defies that mental model of what should be the reality. He just didn’t fit. He opposes the social order of the way thing should be. Cain lines right up with it.
The distain, animus and plain hatred for this president is no secret and is an impediment to moving the country forward. People are starting to call it what it is. Although the President has noted that despite the fact he has made tremendous compromises with the Republican Party, they persist in not supporting any of his proposals, most recently his jobs bill which includes ideology that traditionally has been supported by the Republican Party.
But satirist and television host Bill Mayer had an amusing yet interesting take on the posture of the Republican Congress shuffle with the President during a recent show. He said:
The President could give them the very idea they presented but no matter what he is selling they are not buying. He’s got to understand it’s not the entrée they don’t like, it’s the waiter. They don’t like him. He has to understand that and stop trying to make them like him; they are never going to like them. He’s the wrong age, wrong color, and wrong party. It’s time for the President to flip the script . . . make them nervous . . . grow your hair out for heaven’s sake.
As you can well imagine, his remarks drew a gut busting laugh from the audience. But the seriousness of this statement cannot be over looked. Perhaps it’s why Cain was thrust into the mix to demonstrate – as Republican commentator Anne Coulter said – that our “blacks are so much better than their blacks” because he’s what we like.
Really?
Now that Cain has bowed out, the race has just gotten more mucked up with Newt Gingrich getting a big bump in the polls. He’s no lamb without spot or wrinkle either. But I love what the President said when asked about his feelings about the GOP race by Jay Leno:
“I’m going to wait until everybody is voted off the island,” he said to applause. “Once they narrow it down to one or two, I’ll start paying attention.”
Well with this crop of GOP candidates Mr. President, they are a group many would like to ignore.
Veronica Hendrix is a syndicated columnist and feature writer whose work has covered the span of the human continuum – from clinical trials of male contraceptives, to the gang violence. She is the owner of Bromont Avenue Foods. She is the author of “Red Velvet Gourmet Spice Rub and Seasoning Heart Healthy Recipes.” Visit http://bromontavefoods.com for more information. For comments, interviews, speaking engagements or moderator requests please send an email to vsview@yahoo.com
I find it amusing that you paint Cain as representing that “steretoype” of black man while Obama is the GQ cover model for black men.
Truthfully, both of them are. The difference is that some black men (Cain) don’t attemp to present the picture perfect image to white america while others (Obama) follows the same “don’t act too black” routine. That’s what we have here. Never in a million years would you hear Obama utter “aw shucky ducky now) because blacks like him believe that it is counterintuitive to express much of any cultural expression, especially black.
I find it hard to believe that Cain, the former CEO, Morehouse Grad, head of NRA etc. is as unintelligent and uncouth. But unlike what you suggest, that’s the image we tend to have of most black conservatives who we believe shuck and jive for the masses. If Cain had the same resume and was a Democrat, these attacks on him would be stopped at the door. If white women started coming out of the woodwork accusing Obama in the same manner in which it happened to Cain, we would be marching outside of every tv/radio station and online starting a petition. When it’s Cain (or a black republican) it’s simply par for the course.
Veronica, your view, as clearly biased and nonobjective as it is, needs some calibration.
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“cultural expression”…are u out of your dumb azzed mind. since when is “aww shucky ducky now” a “cultural expression”…i guess maybe it is in that ignorant world in which your dumb lurks. what a fucn putz u are…..
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Nope, just the south. And you’re welcome to consider our expressions ignorant.
There aren’t very many places in the south, irrespective of race, where expressions like that aren’t commonplace to the ear. So yes, it is cultural as much as it is regional.
I’m still not sure why you haven’t figured out the intellectual impotence you offer when stacked against me.
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nucca shut yo dumb country cornbread eating azz up.
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You got me blackhanded!
Lawd knows I enjoy a nice piece of cornbread. Not that jiffy foolishness.
I mean cornbread made with flour, corn meal etc. and if you’re good, a honey butter spread for the top during the last 5-minutes of cooking.
Have mercy lawd. Yessiree! I luuuuuuuvs me some cornbread. It’s even better soaked in the juice of some collards, maybe candied yams, but esepecially a good beef stew…
Amazing with bourguignon! You should try it.
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Lately you and Red have been reading my mind. I have agreed almost with everything you guys have posted about Cain. I been said if this was happening to Obama that black people would be protesting left and right.
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Of course we would and Al Sharpton would be leading the charge. And if you don’t believe that, he just “threatened” action against Trump because he said Obama wasn’t a good role model. Go figure!
I saw the light during the Hillary Obama race when black folk railed against any and everything perpetuated by perceived racists, until Obama won the nomination and was competing against a republican. Then, we and the media forgot that it was the democrats who started down that “racial road” of no return.
you know what I mean, that talk of that ol’ light-skinned Obama who didn’t sound black unless he wanted to. Sen. Harry Reid.
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musbdherbs, sounds like thats the reason u a fat azzed slob. typical trifling eating habits of a dumb crawdad catching country boy. go head and do that hucklebuck dance shyt you country neck snapping hunk of cow shyt.
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Wait! So you mean you don’t sop your cornbread in your soups and greens? That’s weird. You surely don’t know what you’re missing.
Then again I get it, the italians can sop their italian breads or the french can sop their french breads in olive oil or roasted tomato soups but black folk should be ashamed to say we soak our cornbread in the juice of collard greens.
I guess one is more provencal and the other is just country.
Oh well, to each his/her own.
BTW, my waist size is a 30, I buy 32′s…and although age has reduced my 6-pack to 4 1/2, I think I’m doing aiight.
Can you factually state anything close to the same?
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LOL @musbdherbs you are silly!!!!! Hey, don’t blame age for reducing your 6 pack just cut back on the fatty foods and do some cardio.
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lol@ Well do to the fact that I do very little exercising, my metabolism has definately slowed down due to age.
In fact, I don’t exercise. Ain’t no need to front.
But don’t get it twisted, I do NOT hafta stuff my body into smediums. …lol
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