"Americans need accurate information in order to consider Social Security reform. Too bad the media can't be counted upon to provide it." -- Herman Cain
Herman Cain (born December 13, 1945) is an American newspaper columnist, businessman, politician, and radio talk-show host from Georgia. He is best known as the former chairman and CEO of Godfather's Pizza. Cain's newspaper column is distributed by North Star Writers Group. He currently lives in the Atlanta suburbs.
"I didn't know I was a conservative when it didn't matter to me growing up.""In order to fix Social Security, we must restructure it so that we continue to provide for our Nation's seniors that are approaching retirement age, but allow for younger taxpayers to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes in private accounts.""My motivation for running for Senate was not for the stature of being a senator, but because I wanted to make a difference on issues I feel passionate about.""Nobody motivates today's workers. If it doesn't come from within, it doesn't come. Fun helps remove the barriers that allow people to motivate themselves."
Cain was born and raised in Georgia. He earned a bachelor's degree in Mathematics at Morehouse College in 1967, and a master's degree in computer science from Purdue University.
Cain worked as a mathematician for the Department of the Navy, a business analyst for the Coca-Cola Company, and for the Pillsbury Company, where he became Vice-President of Corporate Systems and Services within three years. Cain hoped to reach a corporate presidency, and to pursue this goal he decided to resign his senior position and move into the restaurant industry. Cain entered Pillsbury's Burger King division, where he worked his way up from making hamburgers to managing 400 restaurants in the Philadelphia region. Under Cain's leadership, the region went from being the chain's worst-performing in the country to its best. In 1986, Cain was appointed head of Pillsbury's struggling Godfather's Pizza chain, which he restored to profitability in 14 months, and organized a buyout of the company from Pillsbury in 1988. Cain went on to serve on the board of the National Restaurant Association, chairing the board from 1994 to 1995 and becoming President and CEO in 1996. In 1999 Cain became President of RetailDNA.
Role in the Defeat of the Clinton Health Care Planmoreless
Cain has been cited as one of the primary "saboteurs" of the 1993/1994 health care plan of President Bill Clinton and then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton:
The Clintons would later blame "Harry and Louise," the fictional couple in the ads aired by the insurance industry, for undermining health reform. But the real saboteurs are named Herman and John. Herman Cain is the president of Godfather's Pizza and president-elect of the National Restaurant Association. An articulate black entrepreneur, Cain transformed the debate when he challenged Clinton at a town meeting in Kansas City, Mo., last April. Cain asked the president what he was supposed to say to the workers he would have to lay off because of the cost of the "employer mandate." Clinton responded that there would be plenty of subsidies for small businessmen, but Cain persisted. "Quite honestly, your calculation is inaccurate," he told the president. "In the competitive marketplace it simply doesn't work that way."
In 2004, Cain ran for the U.S. Senate in Georgia, pursuing the seat which came open with the retirement of Democrat Zell Miller. Cain sought the Republican nomination, facing Congressmen Johnny Isakson and Mac Collins in the primary. Cain and Collins both hoped to deny Isakson a majority on primary day in order to force him into a runoff. Collins tried to paint Cain as a moderate, citing Cain's support for affirmative action programs, while Cain argued that he was a true conservative, noting that he opposed the legality of abortion even in cases of rape and incest. Cain finished second in the primary with 26.2% of the vote, ahead of Collins who won 20.6%, but because Isakson was able to win 53.2% of the vote, Isakson was able to avoid a runoff against Cain.
In April 2010, Cain teased the audience at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference of being a possible 2012 presidential candidate by saying that there may be a "dark horse candidate."
On September 24th, 2010, Cain announced that he was prayerfully considering a run for President in 2012 on the Republican ticket.
In 2006, Mr Cain was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in both his colon and his liver. After surgery and chemotherapy, he has reported that he is cancer free (as of 10 April 2010).
Cain hosts The Herman Cain Show on Atlanta talk radio station News Talk 750 WSB from 7-10PM EST Monday through Friday and serves as a commentator for Fox News Business and a syndicated columnist distributed by the North Star Writers Group. In 2009, Cain founded "Hermanator's Intelligent Thinkers Movement" (HITM), aimed at organizing 100,000 activists in every congressional district in the United States in support of a strong national defense, the FairTax, tax cuts, energy independence, capping and cutting government spending, restructuring Social Security, and defending the U.S. Constitution.
