Piggybacking off of Josh, it's instructive to compare Herman Cain in the early '90s with Herman Cain today. The contrast between a man making an actual argument on math, and a man spouting tribal slogans ("class warfare" "sharia law" etc.) says a lot about the movement he represents.
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.
Ta-Nehisi Coates is a former national correspondent for The Atlantic. He is the author of The Beautiful Struggle, Between the World and Me, We Were Eight Years in Power, and The Water Dancer.