Weigel

If you missed it over the weekend (maybe you were celebrating the opening of the MLK memorial, and you lacked good cell reception), my new piece starts to ask what Herman Cain's surge means for Republicans and race. Featuring: Some real talk from Michael Steele.

“Anyone who sits up here and thinks, ‘Let’s put Herman Cain against Barack Obama and we'll win,’ is so stupid that he should sit in his cellar and play around on the Internet or something,” says Steele. “Voters are more sophisticated than that. Come on, now: Do you think black folks got up the day after I was elected and said, ‘Oh my God, there’s a black Republican Party chairman! I’ve got to join the Republicans!’” Steele laughs at the idea. “They’re not saying ‘Herman Cain is on the rise, let's take a second look at that party!’ People aren't like that.”