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Herman Cain told senior campaign staff members Tuesday that he's "reassessing" his campaign in the wake of a fresh allegation that he engaged in a 13-year-long extramarital affair.
Steve Grubbs, the candidate's Iowa campaign chairman, confirms to NBC News that Cain said he's taking a step back, much as he did after his finish in the Ames Straw Poll in August, to evaluate the direction of his campaign. The call included Cain's 50 state directors, and the reassessment will occur over the next two days.
This reassessment coincides with a new allegation from Ginger White, an Atlanta woman who says that she and Cain engaged in an affair for well over a decade, one that ended only recently. Cain has denied the affair.
Cain reiterated his claim, made yesterday in reaction to the new allegation, that White was simply a friend who he had sought to help financially, and that nothing inappropriate had happened between the two of them.
The former Godfather's Pizza CEO, who has faced a string of different allegations of sexual harassment, also said that he had no immediate plans to cancel his campaign events; he still intends to deliver a major foreign policy speech tonight in Michigan.
But Cain acknowledged the emotional toll that the claims against him had taken on his family. He said yesterday on CNN that he would stay in the campaign as long as his wife continued to believe he should stay in the race.
In the same interview, though, Cain opened the door to a possible exit from the race.
"It's just the way it is, but I'm not going to allow this sort of thing to cause me to drop out simply because it's tough on me. I don't want it to be tough on my family. And there comes a point that if it's tough on my family, I have to consider that at that particular point in time," he said.
Asked whether he would drop out if the race became too tough, Cain said: "I'll make that decision depending upon the circumstances and how it is impacting my wife and my family. That's my number one concern by all of these accusations."
***UPDATE*** Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon tells NBC News: "It's a reassessment of where we stand and the road ahead, similar to other times in the campaign's history. We're looking forward to getting back on message tonight with the Foreign Policy and National Security speech at Hillsdale College in Michigan."
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If his accusers are to be believed, Cain seems to confuse helping a woman financially in a business sense, with picking up a lady of the night under a street lamp and pressing cash into her hands. Either way, he's "entitled".
Bill Clinton "I did not have sex with Monica"... You Liberals are so funny how you hold GOP candidates to such high standards, but you don't care what your democratic leaders are up to. Why was it OK for Bill (he had an affair and lied about it), but you are ready to punish and put Cain? Unbelievable.
Liberals don't go around claiming to be the party of family values. That would be hypocrisy just as it is with the other side.
GB--First, I don't recall liberals saying what Clinton did was OK (although it was amusing to read what Cain's lawyer said yesterday that this was a consensual affair and, therefore, of no concern to the press or public). Second, your GOP is the "Family Values" party, remember?
OH boy...shocking !!! Bubba gets drug into Hermans mess....I see the connection...NOT !!!! C'mon,Newt had his hands all over Freddie and Herman was up to his neck in Fanny !!!
I definitely cared about Bill Clinton's behavior. It marred his Presidency and was distracting. However, I have a bigger issue with Cain's policies (and lack there off).
GB: Liberals are not insufferable bible thumpers, always claiming that God is on their side and they are carrying out the will of God. Nor do we judge people for their sexual preferences unlike the many closet queens in your party who rail against the evils of the Gay lifestyle.
Your boy Newt stated not that long ago that the reason for his extra marital dalliances was because he loved America so much and worked so hard to make this country better that it caused him to sometims stray and have "lapses in judgement". LOL Are you people for real? Always invoking the name of Christ and sadly, rarely following his teachings.
Ozzie...you nailed it!!!
I think he is reassessing because he said he will run with the support of his wife. I think his biggest issues (besides the fact that a Republican philanderer always takes more heat because of their family value platform) is that if there is an issue he keeps denying and even the language he has used is unconvincing. I remember how the Clinton Presidency basically unraveled. This woman obviously has evidence, otherwise his campaign would just be burning her at the stake right now instead of reassessing. Why don't the Republicans go with Romney and put a stop to this excruciating clown car of mediocre candidates?
Good call Sophie....Bring on the Mitter !!!! Lets light this candle !!!!
Please, please let Herman stay in the race. His gaffes, misfiring synapses, and dalliances provide such welcome proof that any fool with enough money can run for the presidency. Besides, it's so much fun watching the rightwing try to defend him.
Hey old vet,I think you are enjoying this a little too much...Haaa !!! Just kiddin'... I think they should have a debate a day,I would watch every damn one,and wouldn't know any more about any of em' because they all talk out their ass to please the baggers...but it certainly is entertaining !!!
Cowboy--Yes, it is so enjoyable! Meanwhile, Mitt lays low and waits for his opponents to destroy each other. Eventually the party gets to pick either the ethically and morally questionable lobbyist who will say anything to get elected (Gringrich) or the monumental flip-flopper who will say anything to get elected (Romney). 2112 will be fun.
debate? How about Cain and newt on the howard stern show? that's where they belong
The Beev-2396805
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. That goes for all of us, mainstream media, other politicians,...EVERYBODY. I'm not a Cain fan but good grief, their sure seems to be a heck of a lot of sanctimonious bastards out there."
..........Hey Beev, sorry, I would have responded sooner, but I was busy out walking on water, have a good day.
When a kid gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar it is time for him to reassess his strategy to get a snack.
Herm certainly has taken "positions"--but, drawing on your experience in the privates sector, whether condoms should be distributed free to Members of Congress at taxpayer expense. Ameirca awaits your guidance. Do not fail us. Before it's too late.
Cain the Stain is nearly at and end! Any day, now...! ( This entire repub nominating process is nuthin' but pathos & comedy.)
BTW: Obama/Biden in 2012!
Obama/Biden 2012
(yes we can - again)
@Toyota3: at the rate things are going, the Democrats are going to have to change their slogan to:
"Yes we can -- how can we not?"
The problem with the GOP is that they have convinced themselves that anyone can beat Obama in 2012, with the result that just about everyone has declared. That accounts for the huge "flake factor" obvious from the debates. With the exception of Romney, none of the current contenders have even attempted to run a serious campaign (tho' Gingrich is finally starting to figure it out, having crawled back from the edge of the grave).
Contrast this to what happened in 1992, when, post-Gulf War, George H.W. Bush was thought unbeatable. Consequently, only people serious about running for President jumped into the Democratic field, allowing an undistinguished governor of a backward, southern state to secure the nomination, while the "big guns" of the Party abstained from the fight.
The Republicans could take some additional lessons from Clinton's campaign success, as well, namely his concentration on a single, unifying issue ("It's the economy, stupid!"). Instead, the belief, on the GOP's side, that Obama is "cooked" has allowed them to dilute their message (and to discourage their most viable, potential candidates) by their insistence of ideological purity on all types of issues, from birth control to abortion to immigration to God knows what else. It is a formula for certain electoral defeat, because the simple fact is that the "Hard Right", whatever voice they have in Republican Party affairs, is a distinct minority of the electorate. If they throw away the "middle", especially the independent vote, for the sake of putting forward a candidate who passes every one of their political litmus tests, then they will lose, even tho' Obama does not deserve a second term, given his performance to date.
That said, I no more think these allegations against Cain should disqualify him than did all the allegations against Clinton (remember Gennifer Flowers? Now there was a babe. Oddly, the higher Clinton went in office, the worse his taste in women got - I mean, really, Bill, Monica Lewinsky? Sheesh...). However, I am not unhappy to see Cain's campaign derailed because I don't think he's remotely qualified to be President. I didn't think Obama was, either, but one mistake does not oblige a repeat. Cain rose in the polls for the same reason that Perry did and, before him, Bachmann, namely the resistance, by a substantial segment of the Party's base, to Mitt Romney, either because of his relatively liberal policies while governor of Massachusetts or because of his Mormon faith. It was never a substantively based support and that is why it has melted away under the first blasts of reality.
Olde--Good anaylsis. I wonder if anyone in the GOP will heed it? It does seem the GOP is determined to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Thanks, Old. And, yes, you state the proposition exactly - "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory". Obama WAS beatable in 2008, but McCain (with whom I at one time had a personal association and whom I greatly admire, generally) could never deliver his message because he could never figure it out. If he attempted to play to the middle, his right-wing backers revolted. If he caved in to them, his (now) muddled message lost the middle, and, in the end, he simply looked confused and impotent. Yet the "Hard Right" was so determined to impose their imprint on the GOP that they willingly accepted Obama's election rather than have the Republican candidate so much as seem to depart from their prescribed orthodoxy.
The reality is that the "Hard Right" and the "Hard Left" each represent between 13% and 17% of the electorate, leaving the remaining 65-75% in the middle. That "Middle" is up for grabs in this election. Obama cannot win them, but he doesn't have to if the Republicans insist on losing them (as they did in 2008). All indications are that the Republican "base" of right wing fanatics is determined to do it again and the result will be a repeat of 2008 and an Obama victory in 2012.
Unfortunately, the problem with ideologues (on both sides of the political spectrum) is that they find it impossible to believe that other people do not think exactly as they do. The "Occupy" folks demonstrated that, on the Left, with their insistence on their being the "99%" (albeit without ever exceeding 30% approval ratings). The Republican "Hard Right"/"Christian Conservatives"/"Social Conservatives" are just as delusional and, regrettably, more influential, within their field of influence. They will (WILL) lose the 2012 election and then go home to grouse about it, without once reflecting on their role in creating the debacle (indeed, they'll convince themselves that, had the GOP candidate only been even less reasonable and "more conservative", he/she would have won).
Another excellent analysis. I wish candidates (at ANY level) would have that kind of critical thinking at their command.
The latest 9-9-9 plan: Cain will quit the race when there are 9 allegeations, 9 denials, and his poll numbers drop below 9%.
His poll numbers are heading down to 9%. Won't be long.
Presidents Kennedy and Clinton had sex in the white house while married and the world still loves them. Mr. Cain was a private citizen at the time of the alleged affairs.
Is this a double standard in judgement because Mr. Cain is a Black Man who allegedly had sex with multiple White Women?
Q--Clinton was impeached by a Republican House because he lied about receiving oral sex in the White House. Cain aspires to the office and has lied about at least one affair and numerous sexual harrassment charges. Where is the double standard? If the world still loves Clinton, it is because of all the good he did during and after his presidency. If the world doesn't love Cain, it is because he has consistently shown himself a buffoon unsuited for the high office to which he aspires.
asked and answered....
I laugh when the right asks about the double standard when it is THEM who are rejecting their loser candidates. If they REALLY loved them then then they wouldn't be dropping like lead baloons in the REPUBLICAN PRIMARY!
If you believe strongly that Cain is a deserving candidate for the GOP nominaton, then please make every effort to get him nominated. Then, make sure that the GOP raises morality as the chief campaign issue.
Gigngers have no soul, so this should not count.
Imagine there's no pizza guy, it isn't hard to do.........
If this were Obama all of you would be saying anything and everything you could to justify him, but since it's Mr. Cain, a conservative, you are condemning him. I'm sure that you all would be happy to see him put out of the race because he's the exact opposite of Obama and would be a terrible threat to his incumbency. It wouldn't surprise me to find out that our Chicago mobster politician President and his evil minions were behind all of this.
Nah Brian, that's a paranoid and stupid analysis of the news. As one of Obama' evil minions told me, they wanted to tip the media about Cain's shennanigans but were waiting for him to get the GOP nomination first. However, their evil plan was foiled by someone even more evil - Karl Rove - who didn't want Cain to get the nomination either. But by now he's covered his tracks pretty well and is already busy putting out false rumors to blame Obama for the leak.
Brian, are you not bright enough to realize that this is a REPUBLICAN primary? You think it's the democrats being polled? So, what you are saying is if a liberal says it then you teapubs believe it and dump your candidate pronto? LMAO Didn't quite think that one through huh?
Yikes! Delusion runs rampant amongst the GOP! And they would like us to view them as "leaders"???? Sorry...I'm not buying that.
Brian, this Cain story and the yet to come Gingrich stories will come up because of the self-righteous morality judgments issued by the GOP and its teabaggers all of the time.
Let see, there's Sen. Lary Craig (R-Id), Sen John Ennis, (R-NV), Sen David Vitter - LA, Sen Tom Coburn, R-OK for covering up the Ennis affair. Then there is the House gang of marriage cheaters starting with Gingrich......it is the "moral superiority" claims of the GOP which makes this a legitimate story.
To Paul M in Wbridge : NO, is not possible!
Once you go for PUBLIC office, you draw 3 big TARGET signs: in the back, on the forehead and on the zipper! That's what politics are.
No one knows for sure that he is guilty, if he is, then this will finish his run for the Presidential Office. if he isn't guilty and this is only a bunch of lies, it will show how the far LEFT in this country will go to take down a candidate
BOBBY: Tell me buddy, exactly how many woman have to come forth, all telling similar stories of his abusive behavior before you lend any credence to them? 10? 20? or is the sky the limit???
@Ozzie Boy: perhaps if it was his own wife.
Bobby, Bobby, Bobby: Can't you grasp the fact that the whole Cain campaign was a setup from the start? Cain was (and I use WAS...since he's done) the GOP's "token" black candidate. Believe me...the powers-that-be in the GOP knew ALL about Cain's peccadilloes...but let him run anyway because "it would look good for the party". And all along their plan was to torpedo him before he got TOO popular. Typical Karl Rove/Koch Brother scheming.
Herm: When did you tell your wife?
From the Cain campaign:
She's a LIAR!!! It was only 12 and a half years. How can anyone take her seriously?
I wonder... If Cain is forced to drop out because of this, won't that also taint Gingrich to the same people for his past affairs?
What a bold faced liar. He should have thought of his family prior to running--but obviously never has. He is too busy injecting himself into other families ---
Time for Gloria to take the money and run.
All of the money, especially the book sales.
This is why he couldn't think or speak on that talk show, it's obvious he had other things twirling around in his head. Now we know what it was...
God help any conservative black man in America. Liberals loathe them and will do anything to try to force them back on to the Entitlement Plantation. If Cain is guilty, he should run as a Democrat. Their voters embrace guys who are far worse, i.e. Teddy, Billy, Barney.
CAPITALIST: Nice try buddy but it just doesn't wash. Liberals do not preach about morality nor do we go out of our way to pry into other's sex lives. We don't tell others how to live their lives and condemn them to hell and damnation if they don't follow our version of the "truth".
Liberals had NOTHING to do with Cain's downfall, his egomanical & boorish behavior sunk him. He has no one else to blame. I guess you want to blame this all on some diabiolical plot by the "Liberal Media". You know, the very same Liberal Medial that totally ignored the Monica Lewinsky scanadal and just let Clinton off without a second look. LOL
I'm a conservative generally, Ozzie, but, in this case, I agree with you. This is "self-destruction", not "sabotage".
That is not to say that media treatment, particularly, is even handed. Clinton was at least as great a philanderer and evidence of his affairs were coming out even as his wife was claiming that she was "not some Tammy Wynette 'Stand by Your Man' kind of wife..." Nonetheless, the liberal hypocrisy of a serial groper/alleged rapist portraying himself as a champion of "women's rights" did not get quite the same play as has Cain's moral hypocrisies.
That said, Mr. Cain has no one to blame except Herman and "Little Herman". Nobody made him drop trou while declaiming on morality from his Baptist preacher's pulpit.
Puh-leeeze. Those who wrap themselves in the "conservative" cloak are as hypocritical as can be. I'm as liberal as they come, and actually have respect for a TRUE conservative...a person who acts prudently, has the intelligence to weigh both sides of an issue, and is willing to act on the best interests of the ENTIRE country...not just the moneyed elite. I get so tired of so-called "conservatives" constantly bleating that "the liberals are taking away our freedoms"...and all the while trying to cram their version of "morality" and "family values" down my throat. If that's not taking away my freedom...what do you call it?
What kills me is the people claiming it's the left tanking Cain. Correct me if I am wrong but is this not a republican primary? If so it would stand to reason that it is in fact the republicans that are bailing off the Cain train. Pretty sure his poll numbers weren't being propped up by liberals. I guess people like Capitalist777 do what they are told. No matter who it is doing the telling. By his/her own admission. LOL
Q: Where the white women at?
A: Herman Cain's hotel room.
I'm sure the new, non-racist republicans will still support him...jk.
your post indicates you are racist by mentioning the womans color.It's about infidelity,not race.
Your post indicates you're one of those extreme hippy liberal douches that sticks their head in the sand and ignores the obvious. I guess we're even.
This Ginger women looks part black, she's not all white.
geto cowboy..good by
Arnold, Edwards, Gingrich, now Cain, another fornicator bites the dust! RIP, anyone else stepping to the plate?