Herman Cain: Jon Stewart Mocked Me Because I‘m a ’Black Conservative’

One of the details glossed over during this past weekend's heated debate between Jon Stewart and Fox's Chris Wallace, is that Wallace confronted Stewart over taking a shot at Herman Cain (using an "Amos and Andy" voice) for suggesting that, if president, he wouldn't sign a bill longer than three pages. Of course, Cain was joking (as we immediately pointed out), but Stewart didn't seem to get the joke. So during a recent town hall meeting, Cain went after Stewart. And he did it by accusing Stewart of mocking him because Cain is black.

“First of all, if [Stewart] really thinks that I’m serious about a bill only being three pages the joke’s on him," he said. "And I said secondly, as far as him mocking me, look I’ve been called every name in the book because I’m a conservative, because I’m black. Sticks and stone may break my bones, words are not going to hurt me.”

Cain went on to say that he's been called everything from from and “Uncle Tom” to a “sell out” and even an “Oreo.”

But despite making the charge against Stewart, Cain tried to laugh it off: “the fact that he wants to mock me because I happen to be a black conservative, in the words of my Grandfather, ‘I does not care. I does not care.’”

Should this progress into a war between Cain and Stewart, Mediaite thinks that could be good for Cain:

Ultimately though what this is guaranteed to lead to (or what it should lead to) is a headline-generating and poll-increasing appearance by Cain on The Daily Show, where Cain can continue to showcase his very likable personality, his ability to avoid conflict and so he can demonstrate his own great sense of humor.

Author's note: It's worth noting the Cain went out of the way to point out that Stewart wasn't blanketly mocking him because he was black, but rather because he was a black "conservative." The distinction, it seems, is important. Without the qualifier, Cain's criticism would more overtly teeter on calling Stewart racist. Instead, Cain chose to lighten the accusation.