SPRINGDALE — Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said during a speech Thursday the economy is on life support and needs a bold solution to recover.

His 9-9-9 tax plan would “liberate the entrepreneurial spirit,” he said during a 45-minute address at the Northwest Arkansas Convention Center.

Cain’s proposal imposes a 9-percent national sales tax and a 9-percent levy on business transactions and personal income.

He touted the transparency and simplicity of the plan and called it a “nine-zero-nine” proposal for its zero impact on poor people. He said the adjustment for poor people has not changed the fundamental 9-9-9 structure.

“There are no hidden nines. Ain’t but three of them,” the former head of Godfather’s Pizza said. “I tried to make it complicated, but I can’t.”

Cain’s address at the annual Washington County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner attracted a sellout crowd of 1,450, said Jim Reavis, county GOP chairman. Tickets were $100, $75 and $50, he said.

Cain said he has been criticized for lacking foreign policy experience, but stressed his foreign policy is based on common sense. He said President Barack Obama lacked foreign policy experience when he took office and made a mistake announcing when American troops would leave Iraq. Cain implied the administration isn’t taking advice from military leaders.

“I would listen to the commanders on the ground,” he said. “Isn’t that what leaders do? You listen to the people closest to the problem.”

He received loud applause by saying the U.S. should clarify who its friends and enemies are and stop giving money to its enemies.

Third District Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, attended and said while he hasn't decided which Republican to support, he likes the private-sector experience of Cain and Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., and the intellect of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia.  

Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., said he also hasn’t decided but believes the GOP field has a good mix of contenders to defeat President Obama.

Before his address, Cain held a reception at Springdale’s Holiday Inn for donors who paid $125 to be there. 

Many bid in a silent auction on items such as Northwest Arkansas Naturals baseball tickets and a George Bush aviator doll.

About 20 people from OccupyNWA and a half-dozen supporters of GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul stood with signs on 48th Street in front of the convention center in soft rain and temperatures that plunged to 47 degrees.

Abel Tomlinson of OccupyNWA, said the group objects to the influence in elections of special-interest campaign contributions.

"One of the biggest sources of the problem is fundraisers like these," he said of the event.

Cain said the movement’s proponents need to get a job, get a life and go home.

Cain has had ties with Americans For Prosperity, a group advocating for lower taxes and free enterprise, and has been seen as a Tea Party favorite. In a CBS News/The New York Times poll this week, Cain, 65, led the Republican field, holding a 4-point advantage over Romney, the next highest contender.

Cain, who was born in Memphis and raised in Atlanta, unsuccessfully sought the GOP presidential nomination in 2000 and lost a 2004 bid in Georgia for a U.S. Senate seat to Johnny Isakson.

Reavis said the only other Lincoln Day dinner sellout was in 1999 when former GOP presidential candidate Alan Keyes gave the keynote address. The event has been held at the Convention Center for about a decade.