For those who assumed Herman Cain would go away quietly after he dropped out of the presidential race eight months ago, think again.
Cain, a charismatic businessman who relishes sharing his ideas with the public, will hit the road in nine days for a 30-day, 30-city “Truth Tour,” an ambitious schedule of events to help voters make an informed decision in the November presidential election.
Saying the “Truth Tour” will begin in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Sept. 5, Cain plans to share his message with faith-based and minority communities in urban centers and inner cities. He also intends to speak with business leaders, college students, and young adults since the number of unemployed Americans between the ages 20-24 has risen from 1.85 million to 2.19 million in the past three years.
“We’ll be talking to Blacks, Whites, Jews,” Cain said in an interview with BlackAmericaWeb.com. “Too many people in the faith community have sat on the sidelines in the presidential race. We’re not telling them how to vote, we’re just sharing the truth with them.”
The “Truth Tour” is sponsored by Job Creators Solutions, an organization formed by Cain and Bernie Marcus, the co-founder of The Home Depot.
Cain is attending the Republican National Convention in Tampa this week and talking up his Truth Tour, which starts next month.
Instead of lecturing during his cross-country excursion, Cain said, he will offer Americans a fun, educational experience featuring Cain and a popular local band. Cain said his tour will take him to states that include, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Texas, California and Pennsylvania.
“I’ll be in every city, every day,” Cain said. “We’re offering solutions. Americans should care because the free market system has become overburdened with regulation which is why unemployment is too high.”
“America’s free enterprise is under attack,” he added. “There is too much legislation, too much regulation, too much taxation.”
Even though Cain said he won’t tell Americans how to vote, it’s no secret that Cain, a steadfast Republican, is supporting GOP candidate Mitt Romney – and he believes Romney can beat President Barack Obama.
Cain criticized Obama for the high unemployment rate – 8.3 percent – saying the 163,000 jobs the Labor Department said were added to the workforce in July was unacceptable.
“These numbers are pathetic,” Cain said. “There are 23 million people without jobs who would like a job and in order to change this, we don’t need more of the same.” He said the Obama administration is “spending the country into an economic depression.”
When asked to critique Obama’s stewardship, Cain said the president can’t continue to complain about former President George W. Bush’s flaws.
“It’s politics of distraction,” Cain said. “Obama has no record to run on. It’s getting old to keep blaming Bush. It’s getting old to keep saying the problems were deeper than he thought and he needs more time. “It’s not a racial thing because he’s a Black president – it’s because his policies do not work.”
At one point during the 30-minute interview, Cain became animated when talking about liberal policies that he believes adversely impacts Americans. “I’m not mad,” Cain said, “I’m just passionate!”
Meanwhile, Cain offered his predictions about the presidential election.
“I think Romney can win,” Cain added. “His biggest challenge is dealing with aan onslaught negative campaigning. How he handles the negative campaigning against him will determine if he wins. I have encouraged Romney to keep talking about solutions to the economic problems.”
With less than 90 days before Election Day, recent polls show that Obama has slightly expanded his lead over Romney, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos survey. Three months before the Nov. 6 presidential election, nearly two-thirds of Americans think the country is moving in the wrong direction.
And while both campaigns are spending millions of dollars on attack ads through television and radio, Cain said he expects the presidential race to turn ugly.
“The race will get dirtier and dirtier,” said Cain, who was clearly exasperated. “Americans are fed up with gutter politics.”
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