Cain will not endorse, 'probably' will not run for political office again

It turns out that Herman Cain's "unconventional endorsement" is that he will not endorse at all.

The one-time Republican front-runner, forced from the GOP presidential race after multiple allegations of sexual impropriety surfaced, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that to endorse a candidate might put at risk the larger goal of promoting his 9-9-9 flat-tax plan.

“My mission is to help defeat Barack Obama,” Cain told the paper. “I want my supporters to stay excited and enthused. And if I pick one person, some of them may not like that one person, and that would fragment my supporters.”

Cain had previously indicated that he would be sharing his endorsement on Jan. 19 at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Charleston, S.C., but warned that announcement would be "unconventional."

Cain also told the paper that he had no plans to pursue political office again in the future — but wouldn't rule it out completely.

“I never say never,” he said, “but based on what I know today, I probably will not run again, because my biological clock is ticking.”

Cain announced earlier this month that he would be launching a nationwide bus tour to promote some of the policy positions he had articulated during his campaign.

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