There was a distinct lack of tension in the build-up to Herman Cain's announcement that he would be suspending his campaign for the GOP nomination. The conclusion was inevitable and yet mysteriously drawn-out, like when "Titanic" won Best Picture.
It's tempting to elaborate further on that metaphor – what was the launch of "Women for Cain" a few days ago but some rapidly re-arranged deck chairs? – but the Cain campaign lacked the expectations and the budget of either the ship or the blockbuster movie.
When Cain surged ahead in the polls despite his negligible political experience and even tinier political operation, pundits scoffed: he had no ground game in Iowa, for heaven's sake! But such derision, in the moment, did little to deter Cain's fans. His bravado about his ignorance made political establishment figures shake their heads, but voters liked the guy who "sounds like me". In the face of that unquestioning admiration, there were only two things that could bring down Herman Cain: a scandal or a short attention span.
I'm not sure which one actually did him in. Cain's Fauxmney moment lasted about as long as any of the other candidates'. As news of allegations of sexual impropriety continued to dominate coverage, Cain grew more brittle and defensive – but who's to say that the spotlight wouldn't have revealed that side of his character even without the growing chorus of women with stories of ugly (or, at least, inappropriate) behavior?
Candidates can survive scandal; political figures can even profit from it – because American voters aren't so much prudes as repressed adolescents, given to rapturous infatuations and instant dismissals. (In this respect, they may not be too different from Cain.)
And everyone knows Mitt Romney's the only one they can bring home to mom.
