<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"FacebookPinterest\n\nNo matter where you stand on Herman Cain\u2014whether, in your evolving estimation, he's a populist hero, a charming buffoon, or a thuggish sexual predator\u2014let's all agree that American presidential politics has never seen anything like him. The former CEO of Godfather's Pizza is the political equivalent of anti-gravity; he'd do or say something dumb (pick your oughta-be-fatal head-slapper: the abortion flip-flop, the gay-marriage confusion, the negotiating-with-terrorists gaffe, that loopy cigarette campaign spot) and his poll numbers would go up.\n\nAfter two weeks of ugly sexual-harassment allegations against Cain, almost all dating back to his tenure as president of the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s, Cain's popularity has finally begun inching downward. Inching. Not plummeting. And the man's certainly not withdrawing from the race\u2014not when he's still improbably atop the GOP field. What in the name of 9-9-9 is his secret?\n\nIn mid-October, well before the allegations started to break, GQ sent correspondent Chris Heath, senior editor Devin Gordon, and food critic Alan Richman to Seventh Hill in Washington, D.C., the best pizza joint in town, to have a Sunday-afternoon pizza party with the GOP's surprise front-runner. Within minutes of sitting down, we discovered one reason why Cain has done so well despite crossing so many lines: No matter what blunder or offense pops out of his mouth (and plenty do), it's awfully hard not to like him.\n\n\n\nFacebookPinterestundefined\n\n Alan Richman: Do you eat pizza as much as people say you eat pizza?\n\n Herman Cain: No, because I'm very particular about the pizza that I eat. Godfather's is still a premium-quality product, and I cannot always find that. It's got to be as good as Godfather's or I won't eat it.\n\n Alan Richman: I know you're the reason for the success of Godfather's, but did you make the recipe?\n\n Herman Cain: No, no, no. The guy who started it is named Willy Theisen. He started it in 1973, as a single-unit store in Omaha. His recipe was real simple. He wanted it to be Chicago-style, which meant big crust and very tangy sauce. And what he did was, he bought the absolute best ingredients. Because you have different quality pepperoni, different quality hamburger, different quality sausage, different quality cheese. He just put the best-quality products on the Godfather's pizza.\n\n Alan Richman: I understand that you like lots of meat on your pizza. Is this true?\n\n Herman Cain: Yes.\n\n Alan Richman: We won't do it today, but we'll have to argue about this one day, because I'm a crust man.\n\n Herman Cain: You like a thin crust?\n\n Alan Richman: I like a crunchy crust. You just want the meat piled on?\n\n Herman Cain: No, no, no. We balance the ingredients to achieve what we call \"a harmony of flavor.\"\n\n Alan Richman: This sounds like a Republican platform.\n\n Herman Cain: [laughs] We don't just throw stuff on there. We actually test, \"Do you have too much sausage? Too much beef?\" Because we want to balance the flavor out. So it is more scientifically developed than it might appear.\n\n Chris Heath: What can you tell about a man by the type of pizza that he likes?\n\n Herman Cain: [repeats the question aloud, then pauses for a long moment] The more toppings a man has on his pizza, I believe the more manly he is.\n\n Chris Heath: Why is that?\n\n Herman Cain: Because the more manly man is not afraid of abundance. [laughs]\n\n Devin Gordon: Is that purely a meat question?\n\n Herman Cain: A manly man don't want it piled high with vegetables! He would call that a sissy pizza.\n\n Chris Heath: Are there Democratic pizzas and Republican pizzas?\n\n Herman Cain: Nope, nope, nope. It's like a good idea: if it's great pizza, it transcends party affiliation, just like a good idea\u2014like 9-9-9. [laughs]\n\n Alan Richman: Beautiful segue.\n\n Herman Cain: How long did you guys bet that it was going to take before I brought up 9-9-9?\n\n [The chef, Anthony Pilla, brings out three pizzas. The Potomac Ave, placed in front of Cain, includes an illustrious Italian dried salami called felino plus arugula piled high. The Capitol Hill, really a simple Margherita, is within Cain's reach. The Maryland Ave, a half-table away, is topped with a cooked egg. He doesn't go near that one. For that matter, neither do I.\u2014AR]\n\n Herman Cain: Oh, wow.\n\n Chris Heath: You used to be a Democrat didn't you?\n\n Herman Cain: I used to vote Democrat.\n\n Chris Heath: Why?\n\n Herman Cain: Because I grew up in the South during the civil rights movement. The Democrats co-opted the credit for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But if you go back and look at the history, a larger percentage of Republicans voted for that than did Democrats. But a Democrat president signed it, so they co-opted credit for having passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.\n\n Chris Heath: Why do you think that most black Americans traditionally vote Democrat?\n\n Herman Cain: The reason is because many of them are discouraged to even consider an idea or a candidate that's not Democrat. They are brainwashed to not consider an alternative idea if they perceive you as a Republican.\n\n Chris Heath: Who's doing the brainwashing?\n\n Herman Cain: The Democrats.\n\n Chris Heath: But both parties are trying to persuade everyone. Both parties are in the brainwashing business.\n\n Herman Cain: Yes. But I have never seen a Republican or a conservative approach a Democrat and say, \"I don't want to talk to you because you are a Democrat.\" I have seen Democrats do that. And say, \"Well, we can't talk.\" I'm serious. This is what I mean. It's the intimidation factor, which is used by some blacks to try and intimidate other blacks, into not even considering a Republican. Just take a recent example: Harry Belafonte. He called me a bad apple. Now what does that mean?\n\n Chris Heath: Is he suggesting you're some kind of traitor?\n\n Herman Cain: Yes. Because I am not a Democrat. I am not a liberal. So I'm a bad apple. And that's what a lot of other Democrats, black and white, would consider me.\n\n Chris Heath: Does that hurt you?\n\n Herman Cain: No. It doesn't. Do you want to know why? Because this is America. And here you can think for yourself. And I've been thinking for myself a long time.\n\nFacebookPinterestundefined\n\n Devin Gordon: Let's hear what you think of the pizzas. Because it looks like there are some here [pointing to the arugula-and-salami pizza] that would be sissy pizzas by your definition.\n\n Herman Cain: Well let's start with the pepperoni.... Now, this is Alan's kind of crust. Alan, I want you to know, I think that's perfectly fine. And I don't hold it against you. [laughs]\n\n Alan Richman: So many people hold so much against me.\n\n Devin Gordon: What do you think of the arugula?\n\n Herman Cain: Oh, I like it.\n\n [A fine pie, with a thin, chewy crust. To his credit, Cain is overcoming an innate prejudice toward vegetation.\u2014AR]\n\n [But a potentially dangerous political stance? Recall that during the 2008 campaign, then senator Obama was mocked for bringing up arugula at an Iowa campaign stop.\u2014DG]\n\n Herman Cain: That's salami on there? Interesting.\n\n Alan Richman: When I complained to Anthony they didn't have pepperoni, he said, \"My salami is better than pepperoni.\" That seems a little un-American to me.\n\n Chris Heath: What do you think of it?\n\n Herman Cain: [mid-chew, chiding] I haven't finished yet! [laughs]\n\n Alan Richman: That's the trouble with reporters. We want you to come to a decision before you have time to think about it.\n\n Herman Cain: You may have heard me say this in some previous interviews, when reporters ask me what would I do about Afghanistan: I don't have all the facts.\n\n Chris Heath: What's the best piece of pizza you've ever had?\n\n Herman Cain: Obviously I'm going to say Godfather's.\n\n Chris Heath: But is it true?\n\n Herman Cain: It is true. It gets back to top-quality ingredients.\n\n Chris Heath: Which is your favorite type?\n\n Herman Cain: The combo, where you put the sauce, the sausage, a little bit of ham, peppers, normally would have onions, and you top it off with mozzarella cheese. You know it has some cheese on, it but it doesn't have a whole lot.\n\n Alan Richman: You almost got misty-eyed talking about that Godfather's pizza.\n\nFacebookPinterestundefined\n\n Herman Cain: It's a very serious business. It all gets back to the quality of the ingredients. That's the secret to making a great pizza. [pointing to the arugula pie] Now, personally I like this particular one, better than the others.\n\n Chris Heath: As Devin said before, one would think that you'd brand that one the sissiest pizza of them all.\n\n Herman Cain: Well, you didn't let me finish answering the question the first time! It's not only abundance; it's taste. Okay? It's taste.\n\n Alan Richman: Any of your competition in the race try to co-opt this pizza issue for themselves?\n\n Herman Cain: In fact, they have tried to use the whole pizza connection in some sort of belittling sense. \"You want a president who's a pizza guy?\" Well, informed voters go back and see that whereas I'm normally introduced as the former president and CEO of Godfather's Pizza, they go back and they see that I was an ecutive with the Burger King Corporation. I was an ecutive with the Pillsbury Company. That I started my career as a ballistics analyst with the Department of the Navy. That I've served on the advisory board of Strategic Air Command, when it was Strategic Air Command, before it became StratCom. That my formal education is in mathematics and computer science.\n\n Chris Heath: What are they trying to put in people's minds when they call you the pizza guy?\n\n Herman Cain: That I haven't had experience holding an elected office. That's how they're trying to paint me. And guess what, I give them the brush and the paint. Want to know why? The American people love the fact that I haven't held an elected office. They love it\u2014 [Another pie arrives, covered with meat.] NOW THAT'S A MANLY-LOOKING PIZZA!!\n\n [Anthony Pilla explains that he made this pie just for Cain\u2014inspired by Godfather's Classic Combo Pizza and topped with chorizo, salami, capocollo, red peppers, portobello, and red onions.\u2014AR]\n\n Herman Cain: You see how that just immediately attracts my attention? [laughs] That's a manly-looking pizza!\n\n Alan Richman: I knew we could make you happy somehow.\n\n Herman Cain: That's great. At all of these rallies, I would say, my competitors are saying that you shouldn't vote for me or support me because: Number one, I didn't start out with very high name ID nationally. In fact, the first time they included me in a poll, I came up to 21 percent name ID nationally. I don't fit the traditional model, because I don't have a kajillion dollars. So I can't self-fund and put millions of dollars in it. I'm comfortable, but I don't have that kind of money. And the third knock against me is that I never held high elected office. Instantaneous applause. Every time. This is what they don't get. The only people that care that I haven't held office are the people who are in office!\n\n Devin Gordon: Let me ask you about your rivals. Recently, in response to a question about you being the new \"flavor of the month,\" you said you weren't a flavor of the month, you were H&amp;amp;#xE4;agen-Dazs black walnut, which \"tastes good all the time.\" If Mitt Romney was an ice cream flavor, what flavor would he be?\n\nFacebookPinterestAlan Richman Reviews Godfather's Pizza\n\n Herman Cain: Oh, just plain vanilla. [laughs] Are you guys really going to print this? I have learned that with my new status in the polls, any- and every thing that I say will show up somewhere. Do you guys really want to do this ice cream analogy?\n\n Devin Gordon: We do. Rick Perry?\n\n Herman Cain: Rick Perry: rocky road.\n\n Devin Gordon: Michele Bachmann?\n\n Herman Cain: Michele Bachmann... I'm not going to say it. I'm not going to say it.\n\n Devin Gordon: Oh, come on!\n\n Herman Cain: Tutti-frutti. I know I'm going to get in trouble!\n\n Chris Heath: Ron Paul?\n\n Herman Cain: Let me finish chewing! [pointing to the Godfather's-inspired pie] This is my favorite by far. I love the sausage, the mushrooms, the sausage. Love it.\n\n Alan Richman: You know it could go on the menu.\n\n Chris Heath: This is testosterone-packed.\n\n Herman Cain: Yeah, loaded. If you're worried about cholesterol and calories, don't go into a pizza place in the first place.\n\n Chris Heath: I threw you off. Ron Paul?\n\n Herman Cain: I just don't have a good description for Ron Paul, because he's just not an ice cream flavor.\n\n Devin Gordon: This is a natural segue to our next question: Would any of these GOP candidates getting elected president scare you?\n\n Herman Cain: Ron Paul. I would be scared if he was president.\n\n Alan Richman: Are you puzzled by him and what he stands for?\n\n Herman Cain: I am puzzled by what he stands for. Puzzled by some of his extreme statements, like \"End the Fed!\" \"End everything!\" Can't we fix something? [laughs] Okay. Ron Paul, Rick Perry.\n\n Devin Gordon: Why Rick Perry?\n\nFacebookPinterestundefined\n\n Herman Cain: You guys ask three questions at once! You've got to stop doing this. You're giving me indigestion. Let me go around the dais first! Good lord. [laughs] Um, now, Rick Perry has been a good governor. But what would concern me about him as president, you don't only have to be commander and chief, you have to be communicator in chief. And I think at this point in history, where we are as a nation, you've got to bring more to the table than just what you did in one state. Well, they'll come back and say that I've never held an office like that. They're right. But I have managed, led, and been the CEO of different types of problem situations that I've had to address and fix. I'm a problem-solver first. Okay? So as a result of being a problem-solver, because of my experiences, I'm going to take on all of these problems with a different perspective than many of the people who have been involved in politics. They propose what will pass, rather than what fis the problem. Just look at Rick Santorum at the last debate. When he said, \"Herman's plan won't pass.\" And as I said, therein lies the difference between a politician and a problem-solver: I'm not afraid to propose what will solve the problem, and I'll work at getting it passed. He is proposing, and the others are proposing, what they think they can get passed. This is why this country is messed up.\n\n Devin Gordon: Is Rick Santorum in the frighten-you category? Going around the dais.\n\n Herman Cain: Santorum wouldn't frighten me. I just don't think that he would be an effective president.\n\n Devin Gordon: Newt Gingrich?\n\n Herman Cain: Newt would be an excellent president. But I just don't know if he can get there.\n\n Devin Gordon: Michele Bachmann?\n\n Herman Cain: Michele Bachmann... That would make me a little nervous. I just don't think that she has the leadership gravitas for the job. You have to be able to tell a reporter to stop asking questions before you can answer the questions.\n\n Devin Gordon: You don't think Michele Bachmann can do that?\n\n Herman Cain: No. Let me answer it this way. I have studied leadership for years. I have published two books on leadership. I have given thousands of speeches on leadership. I don't see great leadership qualities in Michele Bachmann. I think she has some leadership qualities. But I don't see those qualities that are going to be strong enough to do many of the things that I know the next president of the United States is going to have to do.\n\n Alan Richman: I assume this isn't because she's a woman.\n\n Herman Cain: No.\n\n Alan Richman: Could there be a woman with strong leadership?\n\n Herman Cain: Yes. Yes. Margaret Thatcher. I thought Margaret Thatcher was a great leader. So that has nothing to do with her gender. I just don't see that in Bachmann.\n\nFacebookPinterestundefined\n\n Herman Cain: For example, what's the biggest domestic problem we have? The domestic economy. This applies to Governor Perry also. Governor Perry comes to the last debate, and the debate before that, without an economic growth plan. Michele Bachmann was asked last Tuesday, by Governor Romney\u2014and I thought that was a great question\u2014you talk about we need to put people back to work\u2014what is your plan? She doesn't have a plan. She started to waver off and redirect. She didn't answer the question. Here's what leaders do. You come up with solutions, or at least ideas of how you're going to fix stuff. That was debate number, what, five?! How many debates have we done? And she still doesn't have a plan? Governor Perry, with all of the hoopla and the idea of him running wearing off, comes to the last debate, which is supposed to specifically talk about the economy, and he didn't have a plan?! This is what I'm saying. They didn't have a plan. It wasn't until I started promoting 9-9-9 that Santorum made up one. \"Well I got one better, 0-0-0.\" Well yeah, it's a zero alright. Not going anywhere.\n\n Alan Richman: President Obama was criticized for a failure of leadership during the debt-ceiling crisis. What would you have done in that situation?\n\n Herman Cain: I never would have allowed us to get to that point. Period. They haven't had a budget for the coming fiscal year in last five years before the fiscal year started. I would have demanded a budget for Congress to vote on and approve before we go into the fiscal year. This administration and this Congress\u2014it's like they're flying by the seat of their pants. They knew this was coming a year ago. A year ago is when you make decisions about how you avoid this clash. That's what frustrated me. That's what frustrated a lot of people. And I'm not mad at you all\u2014I just get passionate about this! Here's another crisis that is coming, which is why I'm running for president: The current tax code expires at the end of 2012. So businesses are going, what's the tax structure going to be? This president doesn't care that he leaves all this uncertainty on the table. That's not leadership! If you want businesses to plan for growth, they want to know the ground rules. Good, bad, or indifferent. The rollout of Obamacare is doing nothing but creating uncertainty in the business community. The whole thing is a disaster! Ill-conceived, ill-engineered; it won't work. And they're now seeing that it won't work. They're getting unintended consequences. It was as if they went into the faculty lounge and all these academics sat down and came up with this. The Dodd-Frank bill is another example. Community banks are frozen. They aren't loaning money to businesses. Why? The FDIC and the Fed keep changing the rules, as dictated by this administration, and they're not sure what Dodd-Frank is gonna do.\n\n Devin Gordon: Can I ask you a quick question?\n\n Herman Cain: Let me finish my tirade! [laughs] I sat in boardrooms as a member of the board of directors of the companies that I served on, and we had to listen to this crap about what Obamacare's requirements were, and it has caused American businesses billions of dollars! Billions! Wow! Too much regulation! Now, all of that is to say this: Businesses aren't growing because of this atmosphere of uncertainty. And that's why this economy is stalled. Okay. Most businesses have plans in place to survive until the end of 2012, but they don't have concrete plans beyond that because they don't know what the tax pressure is going to be. They are basically saying that if Obama gets reelected, they're out of here.\n\n Devin Gordon: Well, they might be concerned that there is a 9-9-9 plan coming in a year....\n\n Herman Cain: I think that's why I'm moving up in the polls.\n\n Chris Heath: Before we start on 9-9-9, I'm going to ask you something completely different.\n\n Herman Cain: Did you get my point about the air of uncertainty? Leadership? I basically say leaders do three things. Let me summarize this. I hope you get this here. I'm trying to bring it back. Leaders, they make sure you're working on the right problems. This current administration has not been working on the right problems, forcing legislation we don't need. It was the wrong solution. Secondly they ask the questions. And they remove barriers to success. The biggest barrier to success at passing anything is for the public to understand it. That's why I say you have to be a commander in chief. You have to be a communicator in chief. You have to be the marketer in chief. And if you use that position properly, you can inspire a nation. And you can inspire the business community.\n\n Chris Heath: Completely different subject. I'm interested in this Donna Summer song that you quoted in the debates and you quoted in your book.\n\n [In an August debate, in his closing statement, Cain quoted a favorite lyric sung by Donna Summer in \"The Power of One,\" though he described her only as a \"poet.\"\u2014CH]\n\n Herman Cain: I heard the song in a collage that NBC put together following the 2000 Olympics. And as it turns out, the song comes from the Pok\u00E9mon movie, and I didn't know that.\n\n Chris Heath: It's the theme of the movie.\n\nFacebookPinterestundefined\n\n Herman Cain: That's what I've been told. And so I fell in love with this song, fell in love with how she sang the song, and fell in love with the words. Committed it to memory. Now, why did I commit it to memory? Because one of the things that I did before I ran for president is I was a professional speaker. Not a motivational speaker\u2014an inspirational speaker. Motivation comes from within. You have to be inspired. That's what I do. I inspire people, I inspire the public, I inspire my staff. I inspired the organizations I took over to want to succeed. I love the song: [almost singing] Life can be a challenge / Life can seem impossible / It's never easy, when there is so much on the line / But you can make a difference. [laughs]\n\n Chris Heath: I thought you might start singing it.\n\n Herman Cain: I'm hoarse, so I can't do it.\n\n Chris Heath: Are you a big Donna Summer fan?\n\n Herman Cain: Yes.\n\n Chris Heath: What are other songs of hers that you love?\n\n Herman Cain: [long pause] Didn't she do \"Work Hard for Your Money\"?\n\n Chris Heath: Yes. [A Freudian-Republican inaccuracy on his part; he means \"She Works Hard for the Money.\"\u2014CH]\n\n Herman Cain: That's one of my favorite ones.\n\n Chris Heath: When you're elected president, will you still cut your own hair?\n\n Herman Cain: I might break down and let somebody else cut my hair.\n\n Chris Heath: Because it's not becoming of the president to do that?\n\n Herman Cain: No, because of time. When you're president, you are twenty-four&amp;amp;#x2013;seven working. So even though it may not seem like much, it takes me about forty-five minutes to do it, probably once or twice a week. First I wash and shampoo it. Then I have to dry it. Then I have to cut it and then trim it. And that's forty-five minutes I could be using to go over a briefing paper or get ready for a press conference.\n\n Chris Heath: You've cut your own hair most of your life.\n\n Herman Cain: I've done it ever since 1967. You know the story behind that?\n\n Chris Heath: I do. [When Cain worked as a mathematician for the navy in his youth, he was refused a haircut by the black barbers in a Virginia shop that catered only to whites, so he bought some clippers and decided to cut his own hair from then on.\u2014CH] What's the secret to doing it well?\n\n Herman Cain: Don't get fancy. I cut it all the same length. You don't do high right, low left. Low right, high left. Mohawk\u2014no. Don't get fancy, that's number one.\n\n Chris Heath: That's not bad advice, generally.\n\n Herman Cain: Right. Don't get fancy; keep it simple.\n\n Devin Gordon: I want to ask about some of your tougher moments so far in the campaign.\n\n Herman Cain: I like his questions better. [laughs]\n\n Chris Heath: Oh, don't worry, I've got more.\n\n Devin Gordon: What did you think about the fuss around your comments about Muslims. [Cain said in March that, if elected, he wouldn't feel \"comfortable\" appointing a Muslim to his cabinet] Did you think that you were treated fairly in that conversation?\n\n Herman Cain: No, because a lot of people misrepresented what I said. I know that there are peaceful Muslims, and there are extremists. I have nothing against peaceful Muslims. Nothing whatsoever. But I also know that we must be careful of extremists and we must be careful of the tendency by some groups in this country to infuse their beliefs into our laws and our culture.\n\n Devin Gordon: Do you think that there is a greater tendency among the Muslim faith for that kind of extremism?\n\n Herman Cain: That would be a judgment call that I'm probably not qualified to make, because I can't speak on behalf of the entire Muslim community. I have talked with Muslims that are peaceful Muslims. And I have had one very well known Muslim voice say to me directly that a majority of Muslims share the extremist views.\n\n Chris Heath: A majority?\n\n Herman Cain: Yes, a majority.\n\n Devin Gordon: Do you think he's right?\n\n Herman Cain: Yes, because that's his community. That's his community. I can't tell you his name, but he is a very prominent voice in the Muslim community, and he said that.\n\n Chris Heath: I just find that hard to believe.\n\n Herman Cain: I find it hard to believe.\n\n Chris Heath: But you're believing it?\n\n Herman Cain: Yes, because of the respect that I have for this individual. Because when he told me this, he said he wouldn't want to be quoted or identified as having said that.\n\n Alan Richman: Are you talking about the Muslim community in America? Or the world?\n\n Herman Cain: America. America.\n\n Devin Gordon: We only have a few minutes left, so let me ask about your 9-9-9 plan a little bit more directly.\n\n [Cain's plan would replace the current federal tax code with a three-tiered flat tax: a 9 percent business tax, a 9 percent individual income tax, and a 9 percent national sales tax.]\n\n Herman Cain: Let me tell you what our guiding criteria were. We wanted it to be simple, transparent, efficient, fair, and neutral. Simple: 9-9-9. Transparent: 9-9-9. Efficient: we spend billions a year filing and complying with the current tax code. The American people are going to save billions. Fair: not Washington's definition of fair. Webster's definition of fair. Which is, everybody gets treated the same. What a novel idea! Neutral: it produces the same amount of revenue.\n\n Chris Heath: Is there any flexibility in your plan? Could you announce one day that we need to make this a 10-12-12 plan?\n\n Herman Cain: The 9-9-9, that's not going anywhere. Because we figured out that eight, not enough money. Ten, too much money. Nine, that's about right.\n\n Chris Heath: So there is no flexibility?\n\n Herman Cain: Let me tell you one area where there is some flexibility. We will have, from that platform, an empowerment-zone feature. You have some cities that are more economically depressed than others, like Detroit. This is only an example. Detroit's model might be 4-4-4. Because they need more incentive to help themselves, because they're so economically depressed. Think about it. If you are a business inside that zone, you're going to pay a 4 percent tax. That's an incentive to stay there and struggle. Or build there if you want to improve your chances of a new business surviving. The second of the 4 would be you're paying a 4 percent tax instead of a 9 percent tax. That's an incentive for people to work there. That's an incentive for people to spend money there, because you pay a lower amount. Empower economically depressed cities to help themselves, don't create another entitlement program.\n\n Chris Heath: Did you like 9-9-9 because nine is four plus five? [Cain considers 45 his special number, one that has a considerable impact on his life, and can point to many examples, including his birth year (1945) and the president he intends to become (the 45th).\u2014CH]\n\n Herman Cain: Uh, yeah. [laughs, and begins singing the Twilight Zone theme] To be honest with you, this is the honest to God's truth. My senior economics adviser, Rich Lowrie, came up with a precise number to replicate those five criteria. And it was 8.7...8.75. I said, \"Rich, That has no marketing legs. Why don't we just call it 9-9-9?\" He said, \"Okay, boss.\"\n\n Chris Heath: Did you make the \"45\" connection quickly?\n\n Herman Cain: No, I didn't make it right away. And then after I thought about it, it fits right in to these Twilight Zone things that have been going on. This 9-9-9 phenomenon has gone pop culture. I will be givin' a speech in front of a rally, and I go, \"America has become a nation of crises. We have an economic crisis. We've got an entitlements spending crisis. We've got an energy crisis. We've got an illegal immigration crisis. We've got a foreign policy crisis. We've got a moral crisis. We've got a severe deficiency of leadership crisis.\" And I say, \"Now here's how I would fix the economy. First, throw out the current tax code.\" They go wild. The audience starts chanting, \"NINE! NINE! NINE!\"\n\n Chris Heath: You've said that you find it hard to be politically correct. Why do you find it hard?\n\n Herman Cain: When you learn how to be politically correct, you sound like all of the other politicians. People like my directness and my bluntness. What happens when you become so worried about being politically correct, you find yourself not saying anything. Because you're trying to offend the least number of people. I'm trying to attract the greatest number of people. Different strategy.\n\n Chris Heath: Are you at all worried that you could say something that could derail everything?\n\n Herman Cain: Uh, no. I could, but not worried about it. And if I did, so be it.\n\n Devin Gordon: So what's the final score card here? Which pizza was your favorite?\n\n Herman Cain: The man pizza! The manly pizza! That was great. It was loaded; it had the great sausage on it. It had the mushrooms on it.\n\n [Everybody rises to leave.]\n\n Herman Cain: Hey, guys, I've enjoyed it. But it's been stressful. [laughs] That probably wasn't politically correct, was it?\n\n Devin Gordon: Compared to Meet the Press?\n\n Herman Cain: That was stressful!\n\n Devin Gordon: We at least gave you pizza.\n\n Herman Cain: Yeah, you did. Yeah, you did.\n\n Chris Heath and Alan Richman are GQ correspondents. Devin Gordon is a GQ senior editor."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.gq.com/story/herman-cain-interview-alan-richman-chris-heath-devin-gordon?currentPage=1>