Herman Cain quotes:

African-Americans have been brainwashed into not being open-minded, not even considering a conservative point of view. I have received some of that same vitriol simply because I am running for the Republican nomination as a conservative. So it's just brainwashing and people not being open-minded, pure and simple.

One of the things that I did before I ran for president is I was a professional speaker. Not a motivational speaker - an 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.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netyanahu made it real clear. They're willing to be generous on some other concessions but not on the border issue. And I don't blame him.

Americans need accurate information in order to consider Social Security reform. Too bad the media can't be counted upon to provide it.

I was Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. As you know, there are twelve banks and they have their citizens board, and I got elected to the Fed Chairmanship for the Federal Reserve Kansas City Bank back in the mid-'90s. It might have been 1995-'96.

Whether you were talking about Pillsbury, Burger King, Godfather's, the National Restaurant Association, in each one of those situations, I had a daunting problem that I had to solve. And I used the same business principles to approach the problem and, more importantly, solve the problem in every one of the situations.

I would have to have people totally committed to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of this United States. And many of the Muslims, they are not totally dedicated to this country. They are not dedicated to our Constitution. Many of them are trying to force Sharia law on the people of this country.

Spending time at the Federal Reserve was a good learning opportunity for me. It helped me to understand economic philosophies and polices that I had not previously known about.

It's time to get real, folks. Hope and change ain't working. Hope and change is not a solution. Hope and change is not a job.

I started at Pillsbury as a manager in one of their analysis functions, then worked my way up the corporate ladder to become vice president. Moving to Burger King was an important moment in my career.

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.

Chris Christie has been saying for a long time he's not interested in running. The media is trying to create a story by sucking Chris Christie into race, just like they made a story by sucking Rick Perry into the race.

My presence in the social media and on the Internet is much bigger than many of the other candidates, including Mitt Romney. So, when you take the social media and you take the Tea Party citizens movement, you have a combination there that, quite frankly, 10 years ago, I wouldn't have had a chance.

I've never sexually harassed anyone, and yes, I was falsely accused while I was at the National Restaurant Association.

My approach to cutting spending as president, is to do a ten percent across the board cut of all federal agencies, and then ask each of my new agency heads to find another ten percent by drilling down. That's what you do in business to come up with approximately 20 percent cuts for the first fiscal year budget.

Don't blame Wall Street, don't blame the big banks. If you don't have a job and you are not rich, blame yourself!

One right decision doth not a great president make.

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.

The one thing that the President can do is to establish a real energy independence plan. We have all the recources we need right here in this country to establish energy independence if we had the leadership.

I ran for president in order to be able to try to change Washington D.C. from the inside. Our federal government is broken.

I believe in traditional marriage and I believe in the Defense of Marriage Act.

The past several months I have been able to meet with people across this country. One thing is clear: America craves for real solutions to the problems we face. That's why I'm running for President of the United States.

I challenge anybody to say that I wouldn't know how to approach foreign policy because, unlike some of the other people, I at least have a foreign policy philosophy, which is an extension of the Reagan philosophy. Peace through strength, and my philosophy is peace through strength and clarity.

I don't have more money. I won't have more money than any of the candidates, even the Republican candidates. We know that already. But we are building this campaign team like I would build a business. And that is, we are building it so far with no debt.

In order to fix Social Security, we must restructure it so that we continue to provide for our Nation's seniors that are approaching retirement age, but allow for younger taxpayers to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes in private accounts.

This economy is on life support.

People who oppose Obama are said to be racists - so I guess I'm a racist.

I do not believe abortion should be legal.

The biggest - one of the biggest barriers to driving economic growth is the capital gains tax rate. I propose taking it to zero.

I honestly believe that there's an element in this country, in our politics, that does not want to see a businessman succeed at getting the nomination for the Republican party, and does not want me to succeed at becoming President of the United States of America.

The 9-9-9 plan would resuscitate this economy because it replaces the outdated tax code that allows politicians to pick winners and losers, and to provide favors in the form of tax breaks, special exemptions and loopholes. It simplifies the code dramatically: 9% business flat tax, 9% personal flat tax, 9% sales tax.

The endorsement process is an evolution. What you try to do is you endorse someone that you believe in and their ideas and their solutions align with yours.

People sometimes hold themselves back because they want to use racism as an excuse for them not being able to achieve what they want to achieve.

And I'm here to tell you, the reaction that I'm getting around the country, people are sick and tired of this word in Washington, compromise. This is why nothing ever gets done.

The 9-9-9 plan would resuscitate this economy because it replaces the outdated tax code that allows politicians to pick winners and losers, and to provide favors in the form of tax breaks, special exemptions and loopholes. It simplifies the code dramatically: 9% business flat tax, 9% personal flat tax, 9% sales tax."

The American people, Neil, are sick and tired of excuses. They are sick and tired of the blame game. And they're sick and tired of the deception coming from this president and this administration. This is why I believe that I am doing so well in the polls.

No Blitz, that's oversimplifying it!

Let me tell you what the Cain Doctrine would be, as it relates to Israel if I were president. You mess with Israel, you are messing with the United States of America!

They call me racist too just because I disagree with a President who happens to be black. You are not racists - you are patriots.

If the world market believed that we were serious about energy independence and we were going to utilize all of our own existing resources, the speculators would stop speculating up they start speculating down as we get our own oil out of the ground.

The one thing that the President can do is to establish a real energy independence plan. We have all the resources we need right here in this country to establish energy independence if we had the leadership.

We need responsible regulations, not regulations that have gone wild. For example, the EPA has a rule that is going to be implemented Jan. 1, 2012, where they're going to begin to regulate dust. That's right, dust. It's called PM 2.5. That is focusing on the wrong thing.

In my case, that number is 45. And given that I was born on December 13, 1945 my conception, gestation, and birth all occurred within that year that number has been with me, literally, for all my life, to date. The number 45 keeps on popping up as I go about the business of getting elected you guessed it as the forty-fifth president of the United States of America.

It's not about me, it's about the grandkids. That's what a lot of people don't understand about what Herman is up to.

Success is not the key to happiness, happiness is the key to success.

There's no hidden secrets going on in the Federal Reserve

It is wise to keep in mind that no success or failure is necessarily final. Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.

A gold standard is to the moochers and looters in government what sunlight and garlic are to vampires.

If I had been under ObamaCare, and a beaurocrat had been trying to tell me when I could get that CT scan, that would have delayed my treatment. I was able to get the treatment as fast as I could based upon my timetable, and not the government's timetable. That's what saved my life.

If ObamaCare had been fully implemented when I caught cancer, I'd be dead.

I believe these words came from the Pokemon movie. 'Life can be a challenge. Life can seem impossible. It's never easy when there's so much on the line. But you and I can make a difference. There's a mission just for you and me.'

I am suspending my presidential campaign.

I just want people who are qualified, I want them to believe in the Constitution of the United States of America. So yep, I don't have a problem with appointing an openly gay person. Because they're not going to try to put sharia law in our laws.

The only tactic liberals have is to try to intimidate people into thinking that the Tea Party is racist. The Tea Party is not a racist movement, period! If it were, why would the straw polls keep showing that the black guy is winning? That's a rhetorical question. Let me state it: The black guy keeps winning.

That's the biggest problem, is the tax code itself.

I think that taxes would be fair if we first get rid of the tax code. This is the ultimate solution, not to just say we're going to trim around the edges, not to say that we will try to simplify a little of this and a little of that. The problem is, replace the tax code, so we can establish tax fairness for everybody.

My motivation for running for Senate was not for the stature of being a senator, but because I wanted to make a difference on issues I feel passionate about.

I'm not a professional politician. I'm a professional problem solver, and I believe we should cut the salaries of senators and congressmen 10 percent until they balance the budget. I call that conservative common sense.

Stupid people are ruining America.

Michele Bachmann... I'm not going to say it. I'm not going to say it.... Tutti-frutti. I know I'm going to get in trouble!

We need a leader, not a reader.

How do you say 'delicious' in Cuban?

The more toppings a man has on his pizza, I believe the more manly he is. A manly man don't want it piled high with vegetables! He would call that a sissy pizza.

Okay, Libya. President Obama supported the uprising, correct?... No, that's a different one. I've got to go back, got all this stuff twirling around in my head.

Well, I'm just about at the elevator up to the family quarters. But bear with me for just a minute more as I confirm who I am . It's obvious: I'm the president of the United States of America!

This whole notion that all African-Americans are not going to vote for Obama is not necessarily true. I believe a third would vote for me, based on my own anecdotal feedback. Not vote for me because I'm black but because of my policies.

The American dream is under attack because our government has been hijacked by the Liberals in Washington DC.

Polls are inaccurate in my opinion, based upon anecdotal evidence, based upon people that I know.

The way to connect with voters on the plan is to simply give the facts. Fifty per cent of taxpayers pay 97 per cent of the taxes. By most people's standards, that's already fair. The President is playing the class warfare card because he knows that a lot of people may never hear that particular fact. But it's a fact.

The real problem is clean up the bureaucracy that people have to deal with to become a citizen the right way. And we must truly secure the border. We can't leave it porous.

We need to lower tax rates for everybody, starting with the top corporate tax rate. We need to simplify the tax code. The ultimate answer, in my opinion, is the fair tax, which is a fair tax for everybody, because as long as we still have this messed-up tax code, the politicians are going to use it to reward winners and losers.

My message of common-sense solutions is resonating with people. People around the country are starting to know who I am and starting to identify me with solutions, not rhetoric.

Most of the people who are in elective office in Washington, D.C., they have held public office before. How's that workin' for you?

I am suspending my presidential campaign, because of the continued distractions, the continued hurt caused on me and my family, not because we are not fighters. Not because I'm not a fighter.

We as voters, have long hoped that we would get a businessman instead of a politician in order to help fix America's problems. Well, I am that businessman.

I used to vote Democrat.

999 ... I can explain it in a minute

All of the major accomplishments that I have made in my career have been in many instances against the odds.

America has got to learn to take a joke.

Democrats are losing loyal voters, but the Republicans aren't picking them up. Democrats are ideologically bankrupt. Republicans have a major brand-identity problem

Donald Trump has been about we, the people. I just wanted to counter that sound bite because that's part of the problem, bad sound bites. He's been about we the people. If he were just about Donald Trump, you wouldn't have had 14 million people voting for him.

How do you beat Obama? Beat him with a Cain!

I am an American. Black. Conservative. I don't use African-American, because I'm American, I'm black and I'm conservative. I don't like people trying to label me. African- American is socially acceptable for some people, but I am not some people.

I can connect with peoples' pain because I was 'po' before I was 'poor'.

I could eat black walnut all the time, it's not a flavor of the week!

I didn't know I was a conservative when it didn't matter to me growing up.

I don't believe ... global warming is real. Do we have climate change? Yes. Is it a crisis? No. ... Because the science, the real science, doesn't say that we have any major crisis or threat when it comes to climate change.

I haven't learned to be politically correct yet.

I know I'm going to get in trouble!

I think 'Hail to the Chief' needs a little bit fresher sound. I might put some gospel beats in 'Hail to the Chief.'

I think that taxes would be fair if we first get rid of the tax code.

If the tea party is so racist, how come when they have straw polls the black guy keeps winning?

If you touch the hearts of people you can get people's minds to change, but you have to show them the beauty of not aborting a life.

I'm not a professional politician. I'm a professional problem solver...

I'm not offended if you call me an African American. I prefer a black American.

I'm not supposed to know anything about foreign policy. Just thought I'd throw that out.

I'm ready for the 'gotcha' questions and they're already starting to come...

I'm very proud to know the Koch brothers. This may be a breaking news announcement for the media: I am the Koch brothers' brother from another mother.

In the vernacular of my grandfather, 'I does not care.'

It is not someone's fault if they succeeded, it is someone's fault if they failed.

It is the policies of the Obama Administration that has led to a stagnated economy as well as high unemployment, as well as many of the other issues that we face.

It's not Planned Parenthood. No, it's planned genocide. You can quote me on that.

Just call me Mr. Cain. And in 2013, they can call me Mr. President.

Just look inside and you will find just what you can do.

Leaders make things happen. Leaders will take a situation and try and figure out what is it that we're trying to do, what is the problem, what kind of priorities and resources do we need, what kind of people do I need to bring to bear on this problem, what kind of plans do we need to succeed.

Most of the ancestors that I can trace were born here in the United States of America. And then it goes back to slavery. And I'm sure my ancestors go all the way back to Africa, but I feel more of an affinity for America than I do for Africa. I'm a black man in America.

Nobody motivates today's workers. If it doesn't come from within, it doesn't come. Fun helps remove the barriers that allow people to motivate themselves.

One of the questions that I often get is, 'Why are you running to be President?'. To Be President! What did I miss? I'm not running to go to Disneyland.

Republicans have been losing the war of words for years now. Now they are just caving because they don't even want to try. I don't agree with that approach.

Some people may not agree with me, that's their prerogative, but you would know clearly where Herman Cain stands on all of the issues, but more importantly where he stands on what we need to do in order to be able to get the USA moving in the direction we need to be moving.

The lesson that I'm learning is that I've got to be careful of being pigeonholed because people can take a piece of tape and edit out the first half and only pull out one snippet that could start a firestorm.

The objective of the liberals is to destroy this country.

The thing that differs me from a lot of other people running for the President of the United States is that I focus on the problem first. Then I focus on what the solution is.

There are people who make things happen. There are people who watch things happen and then there are people who ask well, what in the heck happened?

They [China] have indicated that they're trying to develop nuclear capability and they want to develop more aircraft carriers like we have. So yes, we have to consider them a military threat.

They say African Americans. I say black people. I've only been to Africa once. I've been in America all my life!

Well, you show me the science [that being gay is not a choice] and I'll be persuaded.

When all else fails the liberals call you names or attack your personality.

When they ask me who's the president of Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan I'm going to say, you know, I don't know. Do you know? And then I'm going to say how's that going to create one job?

There are generally three kinds of people in the world. People who make things happen, people who watch things happen, and people who say, what in the heck happened.