Story highlights Herman Cain ran for president in 2011, before dropping out at the end of the year

Jeb Bush has pointed to Cain as an example of how the former Florida governor could still have a successful presidential bid

Cain hit back on his website Monday

(CNN) Herman Cain is annoyed.

To keep a positive spin on Jeb Bush's low standing in the polls — the latest national survey had him at 5% -- the former Florida governor has been drawing from history by repeatedly pointing out that Cain was once the Republican presidential front-runner in fall 2011, only to drop out before the end of the year amid controversy.

Bush predicts his campaign will be more like that of John McCain in 2008, who started out slow but won the nomination in the end.

But Cain, who will appear at a Donald Trump rally Monday night in Georgia, defended his long-shot bid, saying he went farther in the polls than Bush has this whole cycle without the advantage of a famous last name or fundraising power.

"If you want to say I had a 'fall,' go ahead, I guess. You can't fall when you've never gotten any higher than the floor in the first place, and that's the state of the Jeb Bush campaign," Cain wrote on his website.

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