Herman Cain is probably the most interesting candidate so far for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

He’s a charismatic Tea Party and Obama-bashing African American who won (according to polls by Fox, which hosted the debate) the first GOP presidential debate.

He also spent 10 years as the CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, which he returned to profitability shortly after he took charge. Before that, he achieved tremendous success with a chain of Burger King stores in the Philadelphia region.

On Obama, Cain said his administration is “the worst in current history.”

On his own business experience, he said he is a problem solver -- he defines the right problem, assigns the right priority, and surrounds himself with the right people.

On the fact he’s never held a public office before, he said most Washington, D.C. politicians have held public office before and they’re doing a terrible job.

On his race, the Atlantic reported the following anecdote:

At a GOP confab in New Orleans last year, Cain railed against liberals, who, he said, slander conservatives as “racist, redneck tea-baggers.” He paused for effect, then brought the house down: “I had to go look in the mirror to see if I missed something!”

Aside from his personal background – which is arguably the most interesting part of him to many people – Cain is a bona fide conservative.

He is staunchly against abortion in all cases, supports the concept of the gold standard, and wants to cut taxes.

You’d think he’s libertarian, but he breaks rank by supporting a strong national defense (Cain worked for the US Navy early in his career).

Moreover, he was the Chairman of the Kansas City Federal Reserve from 1995 to 1996. Unlike many libertarians, he expressed no interest in shutting down the Federal Reserve and does not believe it should have additional audits.

He does, however, support a strong US dollar and the removal of the maximum employment mandate from the Federal Reserve.

READ: Herman Cain’s 5 step plan to create US jobs

READ: Herman Cain’s proposals would boost economy and create jobs: economist

READ: Obama, Cain a new breed of black politicians

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