The Republican Party of Abraham Lincoln is dead. Void of ideas. Lacking leadership and wholly suffering from an identity crisis.

In an age of enlightenment, when Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream has been so nearly realized with the election of President Obama, Republicans seem to have reverted to performing minstrel shows — starring the likes of Newt Gingrich, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, former governor Sarah Palin, and sadly the two black men willing to join them: Michael Steele, the now former RNC chairman and Republican presidential hopeful, Herman Cain.

For months, Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, has fervently sought a seat at the table for the Republican presidential nomination. He managed to become a useful Tea Party icon, with his bold (albeit rehearsed and unoriginal) critiques of President Obama. Today, after a surprisingly well-received performance at last week’s South Carolina Republican debate, the relatively unknown radio-talk-show host from Atlanta Georgia is gaining some traction in his effort to be taken seriously as a presidential candidate.

Click here to view a slideshow of the most influential black conservatives in the U.S.

By all measures, Cain is a product of a strong black family and a living example of the American dream. Born in Georgia in 1945 to working class parents, Cain went on to graduate from Morehouse College in 1967 and received a master’s degree from Purdue University while serving in the U.S. Navy. He then embarked on a successful career at the Coca-Cola Corporation, before leaving for Pillsbury, where he eventually became the executive responsible for Burger King — a Pillsbury subsidiary at the time – managing 400 stores in the Philadelphia metropolitan. Under Cain’s leadership, the region became the most profitable Burger King franchises. Cain was promoted and appointed Chief Executive of Godfather’s Pizza, which was struggling financially.

Cain delivered again and surpassed expectations. Within 14 months he returned Godfather’s Pizza to profitability, and was a bona fide corporate success. In 1988, Cain purchased the pizza restaurant franchise from Pillsbury and remained CEO until 1996, when he resigned to become CEO of the National Restaurant Association — a trade group and lobby organization for the industry. Cain went on to become Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board in Kansas City.

Last Thursday, in the first televised debate of Republican presidential candidate hopefuls, Cain out-did the competition. He distinguished himself, among the anti-Obama, Tea Partiers, and the viewers overwhelmingly agreed Cain won the debate. Interview requests have followed, political fundraising events are being planned, but what remains puzzling is how and why Herman Cain resonates with a Republican party which has over the past two years, moved further to the right on fiscal and social issues?

The party seems to have given a stronger voice and platform to the fringe right who mostly seek to discredit the nation’s first African-American president. The dominant Republican rhetoric has become so laced with racist innuendo, that is it now too obvious to be considered subtle.

How then can an African-American find a place (and acceptance) in that environment?

Long gone are the days of fiscal responsibility and conservative values, which attracted people like Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell to join forces with Reagan’s Republicans. Now you need a birther pass and a branded commitment to all things anti-Obama in order to be included.
Herman Cain has never held elected office, and so has a far way to go in proving the viability of his candidacy. But one thing is true: he’s a serious African-American candidate in a political party which remains overwhelmingly white. Cain himself makes light of the fact, choosing instead to describe himself at a recent rally as “the black guy who keeps winning stuff.”

He continues to build his follower base through the Atlanta-based radio program, The Herman Cain Show, and has (like many republican presidential hopefuls) become a commentator and contributor to Fox News. At last Thursday’s Republican debate in South Carolina, Cain earned applause and accolades with his performance that took shots at President Obama. “One right decision does not a great president make,” Cain said of Barack Obama’s successful capture and killing of Osama bin Laden.

Cain scored loads of personality points, and challenged his fellow Republican candidates, which included Congressman Ron Paul, former senator Rick Santorum, and former governor Tim Pawlenty. When questioned on his political stance, Cain leans toward libertarian on fiscal matters, but is a more traditional conservative on social issues: something that plays well for him in the Bible belt, as well as black and Latino communities. He opposes gay marriage and abortion. He advocates downsizing government and replacing federal income taxes with a consumption tax. In the Fox News debate, he said he was still trying to figure out what the U.S. mission was in Iraq and Afghanistan, and tacitly admitting his lack of political experience, he told viewers that he would rely on “the experts” before making military decisions.

Much like Sarah Palin, Herman Cain’s appeal is driven by style and personality. He likes to be a member of the gang — a regular guy — and that has been his calling card. “I don’t talk over people’s heads, and I don’t use the usual political lingo,” he told the Wall Street Journal in a recent interview. And Cain is willing to go to where the people are: traveling to Iowa at least 15 times in the past few months. This is a man on a mission, and his campaign recently said he intends to make a formal announcement of his bid for the White House.

What is so interesting, is that in all my research I have found very little to quote him on. Like Michael Steele, the former RNC chair, he seems to speak alot of jargon, without saying much of anything. This is a curious state-of-play in the American political discourse, particularly since he is African-American, and relatively unknown. Who the Republican Party nominates remains to be seen, but Cain fits the bill so far: a great resume, but no sign of being able to do the job.