We already know of one presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, who is a steadfast critic of the Federal Reserve System. But did you know that another used to be a central banker himself?
Herman Cain, a Republican better known lately for his upset win in the Florida straw poll and as the former head of Godfather's Pizza, was actually once the chairman of the board at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. He sat on the board for five years, and was its chairman in the mid-1990s.
In May, The Atlantic's website quoted Drue Jennings, a Kansas City lawyer and Cain's successor as board chairman, about the candidate's time with the bank. "His views were pretty consistent with those of the Fed at the time. Alan Greenspan was, of course, chairman and Herman was in lockstep with the policies of the Fed," Jennings said.
Cain's tenure with the Kansas City bank has not come up much during the campaign.
But even though Tea Party activists — and certainly Paul — have supported doing away with the Fed, Cain has defended the institution. According to websites previewing his memoir, "This Is Herman Cain! My Journey to the White House," to be released Oct. 4, the candidate says: "We need to fix the Federal Reserve, not end it. That would be a dumb idea!"
