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<\/a><\/p>\nHerman Cain \u2013 our boss, our friend, like a father to so many of us \u2013 has passed away. He\u2019s entering the presence of the Savior he\u2019s served as an associate minister at Antioch Baptist Church in Atlanta, and preparing for his reward.<\/p>\n
Romans 2:6-7 says: \u201cGod \u2018will repay each person according to what they have done.\u2019 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.\u201d By that measure, we expect the boss is in for some kind of welcome, because all of us who knew him are well aware of how much good he did.<\/p>\n
Let me deal with some of the particulars of the last few weeks. We knew when he was first hospitalized with COVID-19 that this was going to be a rough fight. He had trouble breathing and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. We all prayed that the initial meds they gave him would get his breathing back to normal, but it became clear pretty quickly that he was in for a battle.<\/p>\n
We didn\u2019t release detailed updates on his condition to the public or to the media because neither his family nor we thought there was any reason for that. There were hopeful indicators, including a mere five days ago when doctors told us they thought he would eventually recover, although it wouldn\u2019t be quick. We were relieved to be told that, and passed on the news via Herman\u2019s social media. And yet we also felt real concern about the fact that he never quite seemed to get to the point where the doctors could advance him to the recovery phase.<\/p>\n
Herman was 74. Although he was basically pretty healthy in recent years, he was still in a high-risk group because of his history with cancer. We all prayed so hard every day. We knew the time would come when the Lord would call him home, but we really liked having him here with us, and we held out hope he\u2019d have a full recovery.<\/p>\n
Herman had just started hosting a new show on Newsmax TV. He was so excited about it, and so pumped up about playing a role in the 2020 election campaign. At an age when a lot of people are looking to slow down, he was taking on new projects, booking speaking opportunities. Ever the dealmaker, he would fill me in with details of his negotiations with people on any number of things. I would always tell him I should have him negotiate my deals with my business\u2019s other clients, because he did them better than anyone.<\/p>\n
The last time I talked to him was when he was getting ready to start the Newsmax show. He was really pumped about it, and I was happy for him because he\u2019d walked away from a nice contributor gig at Fox a couple years early to head a Super PAC. When that ran its course, Herman really wanted to get back into TV, and this afforded him a beautiful opportunity. Alas, he only ever got to host one episode.<\/p>\n
But there was so much more to him than the public saw, and certainly more than the media presented to you. Most people heard of Herman for the first time when he ran for president in 2011. What they didn\u2019t know was his business background. They didn\u2019t know how he had started his career as a civilian employee of the Navy. It was funny to us because sometimes political pundits portrayed him as kind of a goof \u2013 having no idea that during his time working for the Navy, he was literally a rocket scientist.<\/p>\n
Many people don\u2019t know about his years climbing the corporate ladder at Pillsbury, at Burger King and finally as CEO of Godfather\u2019s Pizza. I will always remember the first time I became aware of him. It was 12 years before I worked with him for the first time. It was the now-famous encounter between Herman and Bill Clinton in which the boss schooled the president on the finer points of small-business finance, and I can\u2019t describe it any better than I can just let you watch it:<\/p>\n