he says he had nothing to do with what apostle claver said. yet he himself has invoked race repeatedly in the past. i've got a note here that in 2005, he says, congressional democrats do not want all to speak from the same fountains. he speaks african-americans have been brainwashed. he said of social security, get this. deceased black men fund a large part of the retirement income of women. then he says the tax code is involuntary servitude. this man is getting, it seep to me, more extreme in some of the things that he says, and yet what's more disturbing about this, professor, is this guy's poll numbers are not going down. they're going up. >> they're not plummeting. they're spiraling upward. and it is really sad. and you're right. herman cain has not been called on. the racial shenanigans, deploying racial rhett richblg always accusing the left wing or liberals of engaging in just the kind of thing that he has become so expert at. infusing his rhetoric with profound references to praise have nothing to do with the issue at hand and then giv

a man named apostle claver called the democratic party racist. cain was not in the audience and was in the back room apparently. here's a portion of the man's remarks. >> if anybody is a racist, it's the democratic party that's the racist, the party of the ku klux klan, the party of jim crowe, the party of bull connor, the party of segregation, the party of the kkk, they are the racists, not us. we're their friends. we're the emancipators. >> i don't think that guy caught on to the southern strategy of 1968, mr. mayor. >> yeah. >> he's back there before the southern strategy, a little out of date in his diatribe, i think. your thoughts? >> i think he's absolutely out of date. he cannot for the life of me understand why he would say in the last 30 years that in fact the democratic party has reflected any of the kind of characteristic that he talked about as a party. they have not. the democratic party at one time controlled the south. once ronald reagan started his southern strategy, the democratic party lost control of the south and that's becaus

speech to a tea party rally in texas tuesday and was immediately followed by tea party member apostle claver. >> if anybody is a racist it's the democratic party that's the racist. >> reporter: in a statement to nbc news a spokesman for cain said in part, our campaign is all about promoting civil dialogue. and responding to a published report that the u.s. state department has purchased over $70,000 worth of books president obama has written, white house spokesman jay carney. >> the white house didn't have anything to do with this, and i think it's an embassy by embassy based decision based on what they think is, in buying books, what makes sense for them in terms of advancing american foreign policy interests. >> reporter: and gop candidate michele bachmann mailed it in on wednesday, literally mailed in a filing fee and other forms to new hampshire officials so her name can appear on the primary ballot there. this after five of her paid staffers in new hampshire resigned citing lack of support and poor communication. matt? >> kristen welker at the white house this morning, thank you very mu