Herman Cain was a dear friend of mine. He gave more than he got and he was there for me in some of the best and worst times of my life. I’ve always liked the candidates that come out of the business sector. So when I heard that a guy name Herman Cain was running in the primary in 2004 for the United States Senate in Georgia, I wanted to meet him.
We started doing interviews about the campaign and we met several times. After he lost the primary, I was taking a few days off and needed a fill in host for the radio show. So I called Herman Cain. He said, he’d never done radio before and I told him he had the gift of gab and my producer, Bill Wilson, would help him through the rest. He filled in for me over the next few months when I took time off and from there, other radio folks heard him and the rest was history.
We stayed close over the years. I introduced him when he announced his run for president. He supported me when I ran for Congress and when I lost the runoff and was at the GOP convention the next week; he called me up on stage with him and made me sound like I was a big deal. He had a knack for that. He also shared with me his formula for a great speech and I’ve used it ever since. He made me a great public speaker.
Herman Cain was always there when I needed him and I hope I was there for him. I introduced him to my friend, Ashley Bell and took him to the Longstreet Café in Gainesville, because I knew he’d appreciate a busy restaurant that was full at 10:30 in the morning. We had a FairTax rally there. I introduced him to David Perdue and I got him to host a phone bank for Brian Kemp. He called me a couple of months ago to ask me how I was leaning in the special election and I told him why I was supporting Kelly Loeffler.
But we talked about other things, too. We talked about Gloria, his beautiful wife, and Joel, his lifelong friend. We talked about friends and family and beating cancer. He and my husband had beaten it. I defended him in the press when he was being attacked and I loved him like a brother. He had lost his brother and I had lost mine and I think we filled that void in each other’s life.
I have too many stories I could tell, but I will save them to “ponder in my heart” because Herman Cain will always be there.
