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Cain: I 'don't apologize' for book tour during campaign
Herman Cain said Sunday that his national book tour — which some Republicans have argued could undermine his surging presidential campaign — will help his efforts, and that he plans to pick up the number of book-tour events.
"When I can meet [voters] at a book-signing and say hello to them, and they go home excited and they're talking with their friends and relatives, call them all across the country," Cain explained after a signing in Rock Hill, S.C. "So, no, I don't apologize for these kinds of events at all, and I'm doing more of them as part of the campaign."
Around 200 people attended the signing at a local Books-a-Million, according to NBC News. Cain appeared Friday at a Costco in Northern Virginia before attending the Values Voters Summit in Washington, D.C.
The campaign has argued that the tour is part of a "50 state strategy" similar to that of President Obama's, aimed at boosting the national profile of the former Godfather Pizza CEO in the way that Obama's Dreams of My Father book did. But unlike Obama, Cain has not built a ground operation in early primary states like Iowa, and his campaign numbers just 30 staff members spread across five states. He has twice as many book signings as campaign events scheduled for this week.
Still, Cain said he won't "apologize" for his book tour, pointing to recent victories in Florida and Minnesota straw polls as validation of his strategy. Cain finished second in the Values Voter straw poll this past weekend, trailing Texas Rep. Ron Paul, and has recently tied for first or second in many national Republican polls.
“I don’t apologize for these events at all and I’m going to do more of them as part of my campaign,” Cain said. "I consider that the whole package in terms of how I’m spending my time. So to pick out one instance or one event and say that’s not contributing, I don’t think so."
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