Washington (CNN) – Herman Cain said Sunday he was joking when he wrote a 2006 column endorsing Tiger Woods for president in 2016.
"That was a joke, okay? Tiger - I - that was a joke," the presidential hopeful said. "Americans got to learn how to have a sense of humor, okay?"
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The column, which ran on a conservative website run by Cain, reads like a serious argument for the once highly esteemed golfer.
"Tiger will be 40 years old in 2016," Cain wrote. "The Republican Party should begin grooming him now for a run at the White House. His personal attributes and accomplishments on the golf course point to a candidate who will be a problem solver, not a politician."
In the column - written years before Woods became mired in scandal over extra-marital affairs - Cain went on to write that Republicans need an outsider as its future presidential nominee.
"Tiger Woods could be an inspiring figure for the country, the likes of which we have not seen since Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ronald Reagan," Cain wrote, adding that the 2016 candidate should not come from inside the beltway, but "from inside the fairway, for all of us."
But Cain, former CEO of Godfather's Pizza, said Sunday he was not being serious when he wrote the op-ed.
"Yeah I can be pretty serious," Cain said to reporters in Washington after an appearance on NBC News. "But also there are some things that, you know, you just kind of take tongue and cheek, and you don't make a big deal of it. Alright?"
– CNN's Laura Koran contributed to this report.
From CNN Politics
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Does this guy ever NOT insult Americans?
Herman, drop the sense of humor line. You aren't funny!
As the attack squads dig deeper and deeper into Cains past they will find a gold mine of embarrassing things to pin on 'Cain. Unless you are Jesus you shouldn't run for Presiden if you havn't been vetted before. Doug.
Mr. Cain is not funny. He's as dangerous as the rest of the Republicans running. If his 999 plan were to be a reality, I would be paying 19 cents sales tax on every dollar I spend. And believe me when I say that financially I'm in the lower middle class.
Cain was serious when he wrote that about Tiger in 2009. He is now lying, but it does not make a difference. He has no chance with or without Romney, neither does room temp IQ Perry. Every time Perry opens his mouth, he manages to stick his foot well into it. A recent article comparing Perry to Bush said this: "If Perry and Bush were from the same family, Bush would be known to their friends as the smart one". Huh????
Well, Mr. Cain, you running for president is a joke too!!!!!!!!
Americans need a sense of humor?
This from the guy who called Jon Stewart a racist when his "only bills that are 3 pages long" plan got made fun of?
There are only 4 important points to make here!
1. Herman Cain has a sense of humor. (Freudian slips anyone?)
2. Herman Cain is NOT a politician & America does NOT need another politician for any elected office.
3. The GOP NAZI lineup of candidates is so appaling, so pathetic, a Herman Cain actually appears OK.
4. America does not need a President with a sense of humor.
Being President is a serious job!
So how exactly do we know if he is joking or telling how he really feels? I don't think I want a president who so freely "jokes" about some of the stuff he's talking about. How will leaders of other countries know when he is being serious or not?
I guess he changed his mind since the affair......most republicans frown on that sort of behavior(out in the open, anyway).
Maybe Tiger thought that an affair would make him a better republican...just one of the boys!!!
Cain is the joke, a very bad one. But of course he will soon be out of the picture, too, as he keeps saying stupid, outrageous things that show just how "deprived of intelligence" he really is, as the admirable Harry Belafonte put it. Intrade is geneerally the most reliable political index around, and it currently has Romney way out in front of any of the other Repuke contenders. At this point, Intrade says a Repuke can beat Obama, but I seriously doubt that, if the party keeps boosting totally unqualified clowns like Cain. Obama/Biden 2012!
He needs to take a class on comedy....nobody has 'that' sense of humor....it's not funny....it was a serious statement. If it was a joke why is he telling us now and not in 2006 when the 'joke' came out?
Now, if he said Sarah should run for president(or maybe a pizza king)......that's funny!!!!
Of course Americans have a sense of humor, Mr. Cain. They've convinced you that you could win the nomination, right?
Is his 9-9-9 plan a joke too, because most people (except the rich, of course) will end up paying more under his plan?
I want a president, not a comedian for president.
Like someday. hey, we may just drop an atomic bomb, it was only a joke man.......................
I'm running for president with no experience and a tax gimmick that disproportionately impacts the poor and middle class while favoring the rich! That's a JOKE, Okay? I just like getting my face on TV and earning the praise of wealthy fellow republicans! Seriously, America. You got to have a sense of humor here.
Yeah...a liar, cheater and hypocrite like Woods would fit right into the political scene!
the chicken hawks would love this guy
Tiger for Prez. interesting to think aqbout for a minute but, why would he run anyway?
Mr, Cain is if nothing else something different than we have seen in a while.
Joke about electric fences and joke about Tiger Woods. What would this man joke about as president? How about the biggest joke! His 9-9-9 should be renamed 666 Plan!
Every time Cain opens his mouth he should make a disclosure " this is a joke". America do not nees a joker if that is what the Republican can come up with.
So......................if you PAY to vote, you are a "straw", and can be bent at will?
Cain is the joke, and no one is laughing.
Another joke? Perhaps he hasn't noticed America can't afford to be in a joking mood... at least 99% can't.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt?
You Cain are a fool.