Weigel captures Cain's response to a question about his race:
Jeffrey Goldberg interviewed Cain last week. Why Cain prefers "black" to "African-American":
“Most of the ancestors that I can trace were born here in the United States of America,” he said, hitting those last four words with a hammer. “And then it goes back to slavery. And I’m sure my ancestors go all the way back to Africa, but I feel more of an affinity for America than I do for Africa. I’m a black man in America.”
Goldberg's take-away:
[I]t is apparent that his popularity, especially among conservatives aligned with the Tea Party, can be traced in large part to his status as the black guy who is not Obama, the Georgia Baptist with the American name. Cain overtly plays this role in front of conservative audiences, offering them public absolution for a sin they don’t believe is a sin: believing that the president is somehow alien to the U.S. and its way of life.
He doubles-down on this point at his blog.
The Dish 