Backed by ‘Joe the Plumber,’ talk-show host Herman Cain looks at 2012 WH bid

“They basically have redefined what it means to tax and spend,” Cain said. “Just look up the run-up in the national debt.”

Wurzelbacher, who earned attention for debating then-Sen. Barack Obama on the 2008 presidential campaign trail, told Talking Points Memo that he’d support a Cain campaign. Wurzelbacher, elected this week to become a local Republican committee official in Ohio, called Cain “a smart man who I think would do a great job.”

Cain said he and Wurzelbacher often talk. Wurzelbacher sees him as a “big brother” and Cain sees Wurzelbacher as a “little brother, Cain said.

Cain, the former chairman and CEO of the Godfather’s Pizza chain of Italian restaurants, said he’s giving a run for president “prayerful consideration,” which he said is a reference to his strong faith.

In the 2004 Senate primary, Cain ran as a conservative who opposed abortion in all cases. He placed second out of three major candidates, winning 26 percent, but he was unable to keep Isakson from getting the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff.

On his radio show’s website, Cain, who is black, supports a restructuring of Social Security with private retirement accounts and the replacement of the federal income tax with a national sales tax.