Exit, stage right, at long last

Comedians and pundits everywhere are in mourning. To the surprise of no one, Herman Cain dropped out of the presidential race this afternoon. “As of today with a lot of prayer and soul searching I am suspending my presidential campaign ... because of the continued distractions, the continued hurt caused on me and my family,” announced Cain. Instead, he'll shift to what he called "Plan B": continued advocacy of his "ideas" from "the outside." Translation: He's going to exploit for cash what's left of his "15 minutes" as much as he can as fast as he can. I think Steve Schmidt, who managed Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential race, summed it up best: "That Cain’s candidacy was taken seriously for longer than a nano-second in a time of genuine crisis for the country raises fundamental questions about the health of the political process and the Republican party.” Enough said.