(ThyBlackMan.com) Christmas has come early: Herman Cain is no longer pretending to run for president.
It is for that reason that he has selected BET to air his final interview. A curious decision considering that throughout his campaign, Herman Cain had deliberately avoided any association with African-Americans or the political issues traditionally of concern to the black community.
But last night, Black Entertainment Television (BET) aired a half-hour documentary on Herman Cain’s now defunct candidacy for the GOP Presidential nomination. The segment, entitled ‘The Curious Case of Citizen Cain’, was an homage of sorts to the classic Orson Welles film Citizen Kane, which ironically tells the story of a wealthy businessmen turned political hopeful who sees his chances of winning office derailed by a sex scandal.
The film, often considered one of the greatest of all time, was originally released in the 1940’s, the decade of Herman Cain’s birth. The parallels between the Kane plot line and Herman Cain’s campaign trajectory are 
uncanny, though neither are based in reality.
This was a fact not lost on the producers at BET, who to my surprise, provided a unique opportunity for Herman Cain to speak directly to an African-American audience, many of whom never quite embraced his Tea Party rhetoric and anti-Obama message, but still wanted insight into what made this particular black man tick. Some would like to believe that Herman Cain was a genuine patriot, committed to leading and helping his country, not simply a cash-driven, book salesman working as the secret tool of the Koch Brothers. There remained an optimism that Herman Cain could not simply be reduced to age-old insults like ‘Sambo’ and ‘Uncle Tom’. Clearly, there was more to this character, right?
Well, yes and no.
BET News correspondent Emmett Miller, who followed the campaign during its glory days, gave Herman Cain the opportunity to answer questions without judgment. The network described it by saying “Cain talks in-depth for the first time to the black audience about what he calls ‘scams perpetrated on blacks’ by liberal black leaders, his fiery brand of conservatism, and the sex scandals that drove him from the Republican presidential race.”
Despite my hesitation in watching, Miller and BET delivered just that. They also managed to find and interview the few — but visible — black Herman Cain supporters. These enthusiasts described their affinity for the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO, explaining that the economy mattered more than anything and this was a man who spoke about jobs and business in a way that resonated with them.
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