Tea Partier Herman Cain Announces Presidential Exploratory Committee

Back in September, we told you that Herman Cain might become a household name by the time the 2012 presidential election came around. Today, he took one step closer to making that a reality.

(Read our previous story on Herman Cain.)

Cain, a popular figure on the Tea Party speaking circuit, officially formed a presidential exploratory committee, allowing him to raise money and test the waters. Despite being a small fish in those waters compared to Tea Party giant Sarah Palin, he's confident he has a chance. He told CNN the doubters motivate him:

Transcript via CNN:

"People who say that Herman Cain has no chance of winning the nomination for the Republican Party or win the in presidency - I simply say thank you. Because all my life I have been in situations where I wasn't supposed to become VP of Pillsbury, I wasn't supposed to be able to turn Godfather's Pizza around. I wasn't supposed to succeed in climbing the corporate ladder in corporate America. So to the people who say I don't have a chance I say, thank you. Because that inspires me."

On the new committee's website, Cain pens a letter to supporters saying that while "the American Dream is under attack," America "is still an exceptional nation."

"Fellow patriots, now more than ever, we must come together to take a stand for the future of America," he writes. "I make this promise to you as I deliberate the ways in which I can do my part to restore and protect the American Dream: I would be the voice of the American People.

Cain, a Georgia native, is the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza and a past chairman and member of the board of directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.