Cain

Herman Cain: if pizza is a major campaign issue, he has a chance. Otherwise, he knows nothing. Some concerns....

He candidly admits he’s an ignoramus on foreign affairs: “I'm working real hard on understanding heads of state, on other countries around the world, being able to pronounce their names properly. Being able to have their proper title when I talk about them in that context. Yes, that is an area that I have not focused on because when I was doing my radio show, foreign affairs didn't come up that often in terms of what my listeners wanted.” He drew a total blank on a key Israel issue -- “Right of return?” – and he admitted he has no idea what to do about the war in Afghanistan.

He was hollering in May about making people reread the Constitution, and then proceeded to reel off quotes from the Constitution, which are actually from the Declaration of Independence. Later he started hollering about who, under the Constitution, controls bankruptcy laws, and got it completely wrong. Thus endeth the history lesson.

He wants to cut corporate tax rates, return to the gold standard, “reform” Social Security, ban abortion, repeal Obamacare, ban same-sex marriage, and impose the suicidally impractical Fair Tax.

He won’t appoint a Muslim to high office because Muslims allegedly want to impose sharia law, although he is now parsing his statement and allowing that he might hire a Muslim if they took a McCarthy-style loyalty oath, which he would not demand of members of other faiths. He also wails publicly that legal immigrant students could be attackers-to-be, and claims Obama was raised in Kenya.

He called Planned Parenthood “a planned genocide…to kill black babies.”

He is 65 and has already battled advanced cancer.

It is difficult to see how the GOP is going to pivot from years of race-baiting, to backing a black pizza guy. It would require an entire change in mentality and strategy. And against Cain, Obama could put some of the south in play.