Herman Cain is being touted as the Republican's great black hope. Because of a focus group conducted after the South Carolina debate a few weeks ago, Cain has emerged in some circles as a legitimate candidate. Just the other day I heard a pundit bring out all of his accomplishments; Navy computer scientist, mathematician and CEO of Godfather's Pizza, and because of these and his showing in the polls, it was predicted he had a legitimate shot at becoming the nominee.

In the Republican Party, every few years there is an minority candidate that emerges that the establishment feels will be their brown or black horse that will allow them to crack the minority market. The most famous and frankly their best option was Colin Powell. He was the exception because he really seemed like the real deal; someone who broke the color barrier. Both whites and blacks admired him. He didn't have the fire in his belly to become President and now, because of his endorsement of Obama, he is thought of with regret, like a favorite horse that had to be put down because it threw it's owner off it's back.

Yes, I used the analogy purposefully because ultimately these token minorities used by the Republican Party are nothing more than show. Unfortunately the current message of the Republican Party isn't suited for independent thinking, so if you don't tow the narrow, borderline racist views of the party you have no place in the party. That runs counter to the reality minorities feel everyday.

If Herman Cain does gain traction, does loom large in the Party to become a legitimate candidate, there are smoking guns that will doom his changes to gain the golden access of a vast majority of minorities turning out to support Republicans. Candidates like this always have policy issues that cause many to pause but there is always some big, looming example that just hits people as being not right. I present to you Herman Cain's problem.

Listen to the one minute radio commercial made in 2006.

Herman Cain was part of a committee that made this commercial specifically to be played on urban (black) radio stations in 2006. This was done to encourage more minorities to vote Republican. It is so racist in tone it is hard to think of a starting point to break this commercial apart. Yes, one of the voice, the less white sounding voice, is Herman Cain.

Some liberal talk show host have already had fun playing this commercial. As his name recognition grows in the polls, more scrutiny will be focused on him, but starting off the bat with this insensitive commercial doesn't bode well for any sort of minority recruitment. It makes you wonder why the focus group was so keen to Cain. An observation I've had is hard line Republicans that talk about growing the minority involvement look for minority icons who are so opposite of their view of minorities that the icon turns out to be a caricature. To be honest, both liberals and conservatives do the same thing to minority icons. Look at Obama. I've said he is so much like Sidney Poitier in Guess Whose Coming to Dinner politically wise. If you were to pick 1000 black people you couldn't find any as perfect as Obama. Has there been a hint of scandal with Obama, his wide, his kids or relatives? There is no wild brother, no Billy Carter, not a hint of sexual or financial scandal. If you wrote his character for a movie today it wouldn't survive the first draft because he is so perfect.

A similar extreme goes for someone like Herman Cain. He has to show he isn't like the Negros you see in the welfare lines or the ones sipping 40s on the street corner. He has to say how the black community has hurt themselves by relying on government handouts. He has to present himself as someone who, for all purposes, isn't black. He has to be whiter than white to pass the test. So you get someone like Cain who will take positions and make statements a white person couldn't make directed at the black community. I'm sure he feels the commercial he made was justified and perfectly OK. He is tone deaf to the vast majority of people listening to the ad, but he would contend the commercial was made with tough love.

It will be interesting to see how far Cain gets in this Presidential cycle.