After a quick rally capping David Perdue's election eve fly around, Herman Cain pulled the candidate aside in the DeKalb-Peachtree Airport hangar to give what appeared to be a pep talk.
"I'm here to have your back," Cain said he told Perdue. The radio host and former presidential candidate went on:
"If somebody lies or puts out a hit piece or distorts what you said, let me know, and I will use my voice to set the record straight. Because that's what's wrong with politics. You get attacked just before Election Day and when he gets in the runoff ... the Democrats are going to have two months to trash him. And I'm going to be right there to set the record straight."
Cain joined former Gov. Sonny Perdue and longtime GOP honcho Alec Poitevint to introduce David Perdue, the businessman who leads in the Republican polls heading into Tuesday's Senate primary. Cain assured the crowd that the former Dollar General CEO is not an "establishment" pick:
"The reason that I support David Perdue is really simple, and I think that most intelligent thinkers can figure this out: He is not going to become a part of the status quo establishment, and he understands how to identify problems, what the problems are and how we solve problems. Because what we need most are people who are not afraid to rock the boat, solve problems, and put bold ideas on the table."
Perdue took the stage and told how he consulted Cain before getting in the race. Perdue added:
"He called me that week 15 minutes before he went on his show. Now this is not done. He's got a contract. He can't endorse. He can't have candidates on his show. But he said, 'David, I want this record straight.' So Herman, God bless you and thank you."
There were whispers that there was more to this story, as Vince Harris, a digital consultant for Karen Handel, postulated on Twitter:
I wonder how much David Perdue paid for the Herman Cain endorsement.... #gasen
The comment drew the ire of Team Perdue. Asked Monday whether there was any financial arrangement between him and Perdue -- to help retire presidential campaign debt or otherwise -- Cain was emphatic.
"As my grandfather would say, hell no," Cain said. "Hell no. This is what's wrong with politics. And many of the people who have been in politics a long time, they know that all they have to do is throw a lie out there and if you don't go to the source -- I'm glad you asked me about that so I could correct it."
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