Is This Really The Face Of The Republican Party?

Herman Cain, best known for making a self-made fortune through his own pizza empire, may be the best hope for the Republican Party to unseat President Barack Obama in 2012.

Huh?

According to some polls, Cain has a slim lead over Mitt Romney in who the GOP wants to represent their party in the Presidential election. Cain caused a firestorm when he stated that Black people cannot blame racism for the unemployment rate and other setbacks that affect the African American community. He used himself as an example of someone who perservered.

Now a largely conservative political base is putting their future in the hands of a Black man? There are other Black men that have attempted a run at The White House as a Republican representative yet never made a dent in the polls.

Excuse me for being a bit skeptical about Cain's validity as a true GOP front runner. Cain has said that all Black people do not vote Democrat. While this may be true, I venture to think the Black Republican vote is not as high as the rest of the Republican fan base. That being said I have to believe either Mitt Romney's Mormon background and Rick Perry's multiple slip-ups have sent many votes in Cain's direction.

The conspiracy theorist in me also believes (and I may be giving a base that calls the Tea Party among its supporters too much credit) that having Cain as a GOP front runner is a tactic similar to John McCain picking Sarah Palin as his VP candidate to gain the women's vote. The GOP is hoping that Cain can take Black voters away from Obama and get a Republican back into The Oval Office.

Then Cain would most likely be a figurehead to a VP who would really run the show (i.e. Dick Cheney). This is no disrespect to Herman Cain's ability to run the country, but the GOP and their supporters are dangerous people. We have seen what GOP supported media outlets can do to undermine Democratic Presidents, all journalistic integrity goes out the window if you're on the wrong side of Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly and anyone at FOX News.

Obama inherited a lot of the mess left by the Bush-Cheney regime and at times his critics blame him for the state of the country. Obama did not falsify intelligence, manipulate or take advantage of the fear of Americans after the 9/11 attacks to send our troops to war. Obama has at least given a timetable for the withdrawal of troops, something that did not happen under his predecessor's tenure (he of the infamous "Mission Accomplished" proclamation).

But I digress.

Could we see two Black men battle for the Presidency in 2012?

I wouldn't bet on it. This is still America after all.