Herman Cain is the latest Republican to state that Obama “was raised in Kenya,” though he quickly backtracked on the mistake. When interviewer Jeffrey Goldberg pointed out that the president actually spent four years in Indonesia, not Kenya, Cain—who has dallied in birtherism, Goldberg notes—replied, “Yeah, Indonesia.” The comment came just after Cain reprimanded Goldberg for referring to him as African-American. “I am an American. Black. Conservative,” he said. “I don’t use African-American, because I’m American, I’m black and I’m conservative.”
Cain, the pizza mogul and 2012 contender beloved by the Tea Party, notes in the Bloomberg interview that most of his traceable ancestors “were born here in the United States of America. … I’m sure my ancestors go all the way back to Africa, but I feel more of an affinity for America than I do for Africa.” Goldberg notes that Cain’s popularity is partially due to the fact that he’s “the black guy who is not Obama.” And Cain himself has cashed in on that fact with conservative audiences. He tells Goldberg, “This isn’t why I’m running, but my candidacy would take race off the table.” (More Herman Cain stories.)