When I lived in Orlando, FL, my friends included the late Bob Billingslea, a vice president at Disney World at the time. We regularly played golf together. Neither of us could be considered great golfers, but we enjoyed the game. I worked in outside sales and could get away for an afternoon to play occasionally.
Bob’s job often involved entertaining clients and one day; I got a call asking if I was available to play with him and the President of Godfather’s Pizza, Herman Cain. It was last minute, and he was unable to get a fourth. We met at the driving range at the Magnolia course at Disney. It was the most forgiving of the Disney courses, which was why I liked it best.
I was introduced to Herman Cain and found him extremely gracious to someone he did not need to impress. As a threesome, Bob and Herman rode together, and I rode alone. At each hole, we would all be together at the tee and green but not so much in between. After the 9th hole, we stopped for lunch and chatted. Herman inquired about my career and aspirations. Politics never came up during the conversation. This was before Cain began his career as a right-wing radio personality and well before his run for president. When we parted at the end of the round, I was impressed with how humble and amicable he was.
It surprised me years later when candidate Cain ran for president. Cain briefly led early Republican polling but never came close to raising the same money as other candidates. Cain’s campaign ultimately floundered after he was accused of sexual harassment by multiple women. Cain denied the allegations but announced the suspension of his campaign on December 3, 2012. He remained active in the Republican Party and was a co-chairman of Black Voices for Trump in the 2020 election cycle. I’d never seen Cain interacting with women except for those serving us when we ate; I noticed nothing untoward.
Of course, I noticed Cain on several occasions during the 2012 campaign. He seemed like a caricature of the man I met on the golf course years before. The last time I saw him on television was when he appeared at an indoor Trump Rally in Tulsa, OK, in 2020. Several days later, he was hospitalized with COVID-19, and after almost a month, he died from the disease.
I’m reminded that politicians are people, too, sometimes much different than the ones they pretend to be to get votes. I have met several politicians in my lifetime and am wary of those who lack the capacity to be gracious to those beneath them. Herman Cain was not such a man. Rest in Peace!
And so far as I know, Trump never expressed condolences for that superspreader that caused Cain's death.
I was in Atlanta on the day of Mr. Cain’s memorial service at Morehouse College; his Alma Mater. Perhaps many people saw him as you did. I couldn’t understand his support for the candidate of his choice in 2020.