Herman Cain’s Business Plan

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

I couldn’t rouse myself yesterday to comment on the allegations of “inappropriate behavior” that were lodged against Herman Cain a decade ago and have now come to light thanks to — well, thanks to some enterprising oppo shop, probably. We really don’t know. In any case, today Jon Chait digs into my subconscious and explains to me why I didn’t care: it’s because I know perfectly well that Cain isn’t really running for president. His “campaign” is just a put-on:

Cain is executing a business plan. It’s an excellent plan. The plan involves Cain raising his profile as a conservative personality, which he can monetize through motivational speaking, book sales, talk shows, and other media. Cain’s selling point is that he’s a black conservative who can capitalize on the sense of white racial victimization that has mushroomed during the Obama era. Accordingly, Cain assures conservatives that they are not racist, as proven by their support for him. Indeed, it is the liberals who are racist, as evidenced by their opposition to Cain.

If Cain were campaigning to be president, the scandal would hurt him. Since he is instead campaigning to boost his profile, it will help him.

Herman Cain will not be our next president. However, conservatives have already convinced themselves — in defiance of both logic and common sense — that the charges against Cain emanated from some lefty organization terrified of the possibility that Cain might win the GOP nomination and run against President Obama. In fact, I think I can safely speak for the entire liberal community when I say that we’d barely be able to control our collective delight if Cain won the nomination. We love the idea of Cain winning the nomination. And if we had a bombshell like allegations of sexual misconduct? Believe you me, we’d keep said bombshell safely in our pockets until, oh, late August of 2012, let’s say, and then drop it on the press just before the Republican convention opens. That would be great!

Anyway, yes: Cain’s schtick is to sell books, maybe get himself a gig on Fox News, and raise his lecture fees. Among the true believers he appeals to, charges of misconduct are like manna from heaven, just more proof that white liberals are the real racists while they themselves, by sticking with their main, are the true avatars of racial tolerance in America.

Hell, maybe Cain himself leaked this stuff. Considering how much money it’s likely to make him, I wouldn’t put it past him. He is a successful businessman, after all.

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate