Cain is also distinguished by being the only African American in the Republican field. But he has the public profile of, well, a pizza box. And his anti-government rhetoric sounded a bit jejune in a week when Navy SEALs, CIA analysts and others on the federal payroll demonstrated just how skillful and irreplaceable government employees can be…

But I also know that Obama, practically overnight, has dispelled the fog of ambiguity with which his opponents have tried to cloak him — the vague suspicion that there was something effete, passive, not quite fully American about him.

On “60 Minutes” Sunday, Obama’s usual caution with words seemed like disciplined reserve. His broad smile seemed fortified with steel. We like a bit of Clint Eastwood in our presidents. Come on, Republicans, make Obama’s day.