Herman Cain retreats from three-page bill promise

In an interview with Hotsheet Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain retreated from his claim that he would only sign bills that are three pages or less.

After it was pointed out to him that defense appropriations bills, the Civil Rights Act, the Patriot Act and the Fair Tax proposal at the center of his economic policy all exceed three pages, Cain told CBSNews.com Senior Political Reporter Brian Montopoli, "Brian, that was an exaggeration."

"It was an exaggeration to drive home a point: I want short bills," he said. "...When they write a bill, I want them to address the particular topic that it is supposed to address. Because as you know, they have this habit in Washington DC of throwing everything including the kitchen sink in there in order to try to get it passed along with something that the other side might want."

Cain vowed to veto bills that included earmarks and said he would demand "clean bills."

"Yes they are going to be longer than three pages," he said. "But they are not going to be 2,700 pages that nobody read."

He also said he would insist every bill include an executive summary for the public "so that they will know what's in it."

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Watch the full interview: