In the MSNBC segment "Sound Off," Tulane professor Melissa Harris-Perry, a contributor to the Nation, jokes that she would quit her job if the Republican Party nominated Herman Cain, saying that he and President Barack Obama would make for a fascinating match.
If Cain wins the GOP nomination, I think I may have to just quit my job because I am going to love an Obama vs. Cain campaign … I am fascinated by the idea of really representing how African Americans are not just one set of ideologies. We have complex ideas. The fact is that Herman Cain's surge among Republican voters probably has much less to do with that than it does with an anti-Romney impulse that needs to go somewhere. It landed for a while on Michele Bachmann, for a while on Rick Perry, who has not done as well. But Herman Cain in this particular context economically is such an interesting person because he's got this sort of up-from story. That notion of the self-made millionaire who is sort of the straight talker — that really appeals right now to GOP primary voters …
Cain could continue to surge in the polls as long as he doesn't falter on foreign policy issues, she says. "If you are going to mock the idea that foreign policy knowledge is irrelevant, we are in the context of still fighting a war on two fronts. We are still engaged in the war against terrorism. You can't say who cares about Uzbekistan … "
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