Herman Cain surges as outsider going against Washington

Herman Cain finds himself tied for the lead in the GOP presidential nomination race with Mitt Romney, the man he endorsed last time around

THE VILLAGES, Fla. -- Sixty-year-old Susan Tubbs last week waited in line behind 200 people at a Barnes and Noble store, and when it was finally her turn, she held out her copy of This is Herman Cain and meekly voiced a desire to give the author a hug. In spite of his handler's insistence otherwise, presidential candidate Herman Cain halted the swift-moving line, slipped around the barricading booth, and hugged her.

"Sometimes I break the rules," Cain boomed with a toothy grin, pausing to allow a friend of Tubbs photograph the moment.

Indeed, Cain's candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination has broken the rules. When the former Godfather's Pizza executive formed a presidential exploratory committee in January, pundits immediately deemed him unelectable. He had never been elected to public office, his campaign lacked basic organizational infrastructure, and he was virtually unknown outside of business circles. But lately, Cain's long-shot campaign has afforded him many hugs, even more photo ops, and the satisfaction of proving the pundits wrong.

Quite a few Republicans, it seems, were yearning for a hug from a candidate, not with a long resume in government, but without the sort of Washington experience that they see at the root of the country's problems.

"Look at what just happened!" Tubbs gushed after her Cain embrace. "This guy's a real person. He's not a politician, and that's very important to me. But he's got the economic experience, and he says it like it is."

Establishment Republicans, who initially dismissed Cain's candidacy as a pipe dream, were jolted to attention last month, when Cain trounced Texas Gov. Rick Perry in the Florida GOP straw poll, 37 percent to 15 percent. In the last two weeks, he has placed either second or tied front-runner Mitt Romney in national polls, and he has attracted up to 1,000 people at this book-signings.

In a political climate driven largely by the tea party movement that once propelled Perry and Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., to the front of the pack, Cain's arrival in the top tier shouldn't be shocking.

Watch Herman Cain on Sunday's Face the Nation:

Last week, a Gallup poll showes that a record-high 81 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with the way the country is being governed. Florida straw poll participant Bonnie Benefield, of Gainesville, said she had just cast her vote for Cain for the same reason critics originally laughed him off.

"I think he's exactly who the founding fathers had in mind when they set up the office of the president," Benefield said. "He's a businessman; he's not a career politician. He understands what it's like to grow up in the U.S., and he understands what it's like to do business in America."

It's a line Cain himself uses to his advantage. In an interview with CBS News and National Journal last week, he said that he is "the only business problem-solver that's running for president of the United States.

"Now Mitt Romney tries to say that that's him," Cain said. "But see, he was a Wall Street executive. I was a Main Street executive. I've actually made pizzas, made hamburgers, cleaned restaurants, swept the parking lot, OK? I've done all that. I have been a hands-on business executive throughout my career, so I can better connect with people who are working for hourly wages. I can relate to the small businessman. Why? I have been one, and I'm still one."

His description of himself as a newcomer to politics is one of his best applause lines on the stump. At a Houston Junior League breakfast on Thursday, the crowd spontaneously burst into applause when Cain mentioned that he's never held public office. At one point, he told the crowd that he wasn't born "poor," he was born, "po'" - "We had to work our way up to poor," he said.

Later that day, Cain's book-signing event at Texas A&M University in College Station, Perry's alma mater, sold out, and drew 1,000 supporters.

Bobby Tyson, a 23-year-old from The Woodlands in Texas, said he was initially "excited" when Perry entered the race, but is now supporting Cain. "In terms of establishing a relationship with the tea party movement, I think that people really can relate to the fact that he's just an ordinary guy who's worked his way up from very humble beginnings," said Tyson, who added that he thinks the timing is right for a non-politician to chance a White House run.

"I think Barack Obama has actually done Herman Cain a lot of good, because he's woken up a lot of people who were busy working, ordinary Americans who were trying to provide for their families," he said. "So I think people can really relate with the fact that Herman Cain's never held public office before, and I think he's extremely electable."

In the 1980s, Cain worked his way up through the ranks at Pillsbury to manage more than 400 Burger King stores in the Philadelphia area. He turned the region's restaurants from the least profitable to the most profitable. Pillsbury then assigned Cain to turn around the flagging Godfather's Pizza, and within two years he had made the pizza chain profitable. Following a decade-long tenure at the chain's helm, Cain went on to host a talk radio show in Atlanta, called The Herman Cain Show.

"Here in Florida we realize he's a person, he's not a politician, and he's turned a lot of businesses around," said Sandy Russo, who was in line at The Villages book-signing. "I don't know why it's such an absurd idea that a businessman should be president when the economy looks like it does."

As Cain weaved his way through the bookcases to shake hands with the people who turned out at his College Station book-signing, one couple observed him from a distance as he joked with supporters and asked a group of A&M students about their football team's record this season.

"That's the most laid-back politician I've ever seen," the woman marveled. Her husband corrected her, "That's not a politician at all."

[CLem1102]

You are right, he's not a politician, he is worse, a CEO. All I have heard him do lately is say negative things about most of the people in this country. He doesn't know what Occupy wall street is about, so obviously the people in his staff don't watch tv or read newspapers. He has no idea what the american people need. Yes, he was poor once, and he became successful, and forgot his poor roots. His 9-9-9 plan is a crock and built around the rich. How would it benefit the 99% of people in this country to pay 9% for their groceries, on top of 9% for taxes. I could have understood his plan if it didn't include food, since I already pay 6% sales tax, but to pay taxes on my food is down right theft. Its just stealing more from the poor to give to the rich. So sick of all these companies not giving back and creating more jobs. Instead, they cut jobs and have record profits. Where do they get the money to even have profits from-US. So why are they screwing us over-and over-and over. Cain is a joke, and for Romney just threw away his possible nominee for siding with Cain. I have yet to see a candidate I would actually vote for in this next election. There are so many problems that our government needs to address, but refuse, or can't agree to anything. And when the people attempt to address them, they are called mobs, anti-capitalists...Isn't it our freedom of speech to voice our opinion? The people who are supposed to be representing us, AREN'T. If they went with what the people wanted, the rich would be taxed higher. In a recent survey, it said 66% of people agree with the tax increase to help this country, which is in desperate need. If they aren't doing their jobs, which most of them are not, they need to resign, or be fired. Only %10 percent agree that congress is doing their job...10% need I saw more.

[stephan67]

Cain wants to be the president of a strong superpower with no foreign policy knowledge !!This is the latest political joke in the United States.

[NYS_parkie]

nys: Politician's remind me of high class welfare recipients. Especially the career ones. They have never had to really work except at spending someone else's money. The Pelosi's and Barney Franks. Mitch McConnells and John Dingell, Patrick Leahy - these guys have been in Washigton D. C. for decades. Things tend to go sour after that long sitting in one place. Ya have just got to clean it out with Bleach and water. Herman has not been like these guys. He has worked for a living for a long time. He is beholding to none never being elected to public office. In the process he has saved businesses. He actually knows how to get things done. He is the only candidate worthwhile in this group. Except for the personal baggage he carries I would have like Newt. You can't argue with his intellect. He knows his stuff. Romney, Perry, Bachman....no way. Huntsman - Nope. Ron Paul...to far out there. I believe some of his ideas would hurt terribly. Legalize drugs? Give me a break. I'd rather live under Sharia law.

[Jaaayyy]

An ousider? What a joke, Cain has run for Senate and President before.

Cain is the Insider's insider. Cain is a former Federal Reserve Banker who favored TARP bail-outs, and now he wants a national sales tax. Cain endorsed Romney in 2008, and Cain wants to continue the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Cain is a phony "outsider" and an absolute gift to the status quo.

[noloyalisti]

He already cut his own nose off by saying stupid things about Occupy Together. He is just another greedy, clueless, simple minded and short sighted Republicons who hates America (except for the Top 1%).

[retm-w]

Show me any CEO that cares about the Middle Class, Seniors and poor.

[noloyalisti]

This is NOT a partisan issue, it is about the 99% who can't hire corporate lobbyists against the top 1% who declared Class War on America.

[seerclearly]

When will you people wake up? Cain is no "outsider" - he's in the 1% of the wealthiest americans and he thinks just like them, sneering on the folk who have lost their jobs. Is this monster what you want in the white house? Our greatest presidents loved the american people. They didn't think of them as losers.

[mariannpepit]

chevyhotrod: Obama was a senator before he campaign for the presidency. Cain has no political experience and and he shows it. I hope the public wakes up to his tactics. He is a good talker and is trying hard with his lies to make peope believe he is the best candidate to vote for. He will be a second mistake of 2008 and worse.

[mariannpepit]

Of course he's a Washington outsider because he doesn't live there. So are Rommney and Perry. Cain is for Cain and he has the public fooled just like 2008 all over again. In my opinion Cain doesn't have the political experience to run this country. I as a republican would not vote for him. And Cain should refrain from bringing race in the campaign. Cain is trying hard to eliminate Perry from the campaign and then he will work on Rommney. People in this country need to wake up. He is a very critical person of Obama, Perry, Rommney and was going to critize Christie but Christie withdrew from entering.

[ReasonableViews]

Should Herman Cain be doing a book tour instead of campaigning? We happen to think it's a very cagey strategy. http://******/p0UB9h It enables him to save money and get credibility at the same time, which will enable him to compete in Iowa when the time comes and compete elsewhere after Iowa.