You may know him as that pizza guy.
Herman Cain is hoping you will get to know him as a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.
Cain, the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, formally announced Saturday that he is seeking the GOP nomination in the 2012 race.
Cain, the fourth Republican candidate to announce, was a crowd favorite at a Greenville GOP presidential debate earlier this month, garnering applause for his pithy one-liners.
In an interview with The State Tuesday, the 65-year-old Cain acknowledged he is seen as a long-shot candidate, in part because he never has held political office. “But most of the people in Washington have held office before,” Cain said, repeating a line that got him cheers in Greenville. “How’s that working for you?”
“I’m not a politician. I’m a problem solver,” said Cain, a favorite of the Tea Party, which also supported S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley. “We’ve got plenty of politicians already running.”
Cain, who has been a talk show host in Atlanta and held posts at various corporations, including Coca-Cola and Burger King, said, if elected, his top priority will be boosting the economic growth in states like South Carolina.
“If you get the national economy growing, the state economies will benefit and the local economies will benefit,” said Cain, who has a five-point plan including lowering the top corporate income tax rate, reducing the capital gains tax rate to zero, and cutting the payroll tax for workers and employers for one year.
Cain is less certain of what to do about the war in Afghanistan.
“The American people are uncertain of what is the end game. Can we win?” said Cain, adding he needs more questions answered before taking a stand on the war. “I need to get more information under my hat first.”
Cain, a married father of two, said he decided to run because the country is headed in the wrong direction under President Barack Obama’s leadership.
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