Gwen Ifill tweeted this: “Why is @GovernorPerry calling @THEHermanCain brother? Are they related? #scandal” And speaking on MSNBC today, political analyst and strategist Karen Finney remarked that she was slightly bothered by Perry’s use of the term “brother” to refer to Cain. She later e-mailed me the phrase simply “hit my ear the wrong way.” First, here’s the exchange regarding Cain’s now ubiquitous 9-9-9 tax plan: “Herman, I love you, brother, but let me tell you something, you don’t need to have a big analysis to figure this thing out,” Perry said. “At the end of the week, I’m going to be laying out a plan that clearly -- I’ll bump plans with you, brother, and we’ll see who has the best idea about how you get this country working again.”