Cain: Race Card, Not Racism, Being Played in Obama-Debt Ceiling Debate

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: We are running out of credit and we're running out of time. It is President Obama versus the Republicans. And this crisis means a lot to every American. And our leaders are literally clawing at each other. But is the fight strong, passionate and principled, or is it something else?

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee went before Congress on Friday. This is what she is saying about the problem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE, D-TEXAS: Read between the lines. What is different about this president that should put him in a position that he should not receive the same kind of respectful treatment of when it is necessary to raise the debt limit in order to pay our bills, something required by both statute and the 14th Amendment?

But I do not understand what I think is the maligning and maliciousness of this president. Why is he different? And in my community, that is the question that we raise. In the minority community, that is the question that is being raised. Why is this president being treated so disrespectfully?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAN SUSTEREN: Joining us is Republican presidential contender and former CEO of Godfather's Pizza, Herman Cain. Nice to see you, sir.

HERMAN CAIN, GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, Greta.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee I do believe is saying that she says that it's racist how the president's being treated. If it is racist, it must be stopped. If it is not racist, she must be stopped from what she's saying because it's not going to fix the debate. Racist or not, because I assume as an African-American man, you have seen racism.

CAIN: I have seen racism, lived through racism. I know racism when I see it. This president isn't different, he's just wrong, dead wrong. She is playing the race card, like they do when they can't defend this president's record. So they go to the race card or they go to the class warfare card. And that's all that she is doing. The race card is now a joke because a lot of American people have figured it out. It's not going to work the way it usually does.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right, racism is wrong. It's dead wrong.

CAIN: Yes.

VAN SUSTEREN: It's painful. It still exists.

CAIN: Yes.

VAN SUSTEREN: So if this isn't racism, how do we get Representative Sheila Jackson Lee to come out and debate this strong, aggressively on the issues?

CAIN: I don't think you're going to get her to change because the people who depend upon the race card, they're not going to change. This is all she knows what to do in order to try and attack conservatives or attack Republicans or defend a failed president in terms of all of his policies.

Look at the failed economic policies. Look at a lot of the other failed decisions that he's made. The only thing that they revert to is the race card. He's just wrong. It has nothing to do with race. I see this, when I'm out on the campaign journey. I talk to people. I'm all over the country. There's no racism out there because he's black. It's all because they don't agree with his policies.

I was attacked on my radio show because I disagree with this president. They didn't call me racist, they called me shameless and a lot of other names. This is their last resort because he cannot stand on his record. And so they only have to play the race card.