Herman Cain enthusiastically embraced the Koch brothers -- saying he is their "brother from another mother" -- just hours after facing a legal complaint challenging his campaign's ties to a Koch brother affiliated non profit.

"Just so I can clarify this for the media, this may be a breaking news announcement for the media: I am the Koch brothers' brother from another mother," Cain said during a speech at the Americans for Prosperity gathering in Washington, D.C. "Yes. I'm their brother from another mother! And proud of it!"

Cain said: "I'm proud to know the Koch brothers." He said a recent New York Times article made it sound like "we've had time to go fishing together, hunting together, skiiing together."

Charles and David Koch, whose company, Koch Industries, is one of the country's largest privately-held energy firms, have been major donors to conservative causes and, through their group, Americans for Prosperity, have been widely credited with helping to spur the emergence of the Tea Party. (David Koch was in attendance for today's speech.)

But Cain's ties to the Koch brothers and Americans for Prosperity have received new scrutiny this week. A watchdog group, the Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington (CREW), on Friday filed a legal complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) charging that Cain and his campaign manager, Mark Block, violated election laws by using $40,000 in funds from a non profit founded by Block to pay for iPads and charter flights for Cain's presidential campaign.

Cain made his remarks Friday in direct reference to a story published Friday in the New York Times outlining those ties.

Non-profits are barred by law from spending money for presidential campaigns. Internal documents from the non-profit, Prosperity USA, were published this week by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. They contain apperent references to expenses paid by AFP on behalf of Prosperity USA and Cain -- "From AFP- H. Cain travel," one reads -- and an AFP spokesman this week confirmed the group was reviewing what it called "financial dealings" between the groups.

Asked about the FEC complaint filed by CREW, Cain campaign spokesman, JD Gordon, emailed Friday: "As with any suggestions of this type, we have asked outside counsel to investigate The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's suggestions and may comment, if appropriate, when that review is completed."

The campaign finance allegations have added to Cain's problems this week. The candidate has found himself under siege this week for his acknowledgement of settlements that existed between two women and the National Restaurant Association related to allegations of sexual harassment brought against Cain during his time as the restaurant lobby's chairman. Cain did not address that controversy in his Friday speech.

The event was Cain's last in D.C., where he's spent most of the week. He's set to travel next to Houston, where he'll debate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a fellow Republican presidential hopeful.

NBC's Andrew Rafferty and msnbc.com's Michael O'Brien contributed.

Updated at 3:14 p.m.

The lawmakers in charge of Democrats' campaign to retake control of the House in 2012 said Friday that headwinds have shifted, and are in Democrats' favor going into next fall's election.

Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), briefed reporters on his party's efforts to achieve a net gain of 25 seats in the House, which would help them retake the majority they lost just a year ago.

“We have gone from a gale-force wind against us to a sustained breeze at our backs,” Israel told reporters Friday, comparing his party’s chances in House races today to where it stood in the wake of its 2010 election disaster when the Republicans scored a net gain of 63 House seats.

He cited generic polling that shows more voters would prefer Democrats in control of the House than Republicans. The average Democratic advantage in recent generic House polling is three percentage points, he said.

Israel said his advice to Democratic House challengers is that “the key to this election is run like a mayor” –- and avoid ideological debates.

But despite Israel's optimism, the New York congressman acknowledged three big unknowns that could affect the outcome of the contests:

• President Obama’s unpopularity in some districts,
• the prospect that the deficit reduction “super committee” might recommend significant cuts in entitlement spending,
• and perhaps most importantly, the size and effectiveness of advertising efforts by outside Democratic-allied groups who –under the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision – will be free to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to boost Democratic candidates

Israel said Democrats "did not lose the 2010 election to Republicans, we lost it to Karl Rove and the Koch brothers,” referring to GOP strategist Rove and Charles and David Koch who help fund outside advocacy group such as Americans for Prosperity.

Democratic allies didn’t launch comparable outside advocacy efforts to counter the Rove/Koch/GOP effort in 2010 but will do so in 2012, Israel indicated.

Alluding to efforts by Democratic outside groups in next year’s elections, Israel said, “We’re going to address that (disparity); others are going to address that, our allies will address that.” 

He added, “We are very hopeful that our allies… will have a countervailing message in 2012. There’s already the House Majority PAC that has been stood up; I’m told there are some environmental groups that are standing up their own committee; I’m told there are some groups in labor that are standing up their own committees.”

He concluded, “We’re already far ahead of where we were, but we have -– but they have, they have -– a lot of work to do.”

His caution in distinguishing party efforts from those of outside groups is a nod to the legal requirement that the outside advocacy not be coordinated with candidates or parties.

He cited star Democratic recruits such as former NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez who is running against freshman Republican Rep. Jeff Denham, and emergency room physician Dr. Raul Ruiz, who is seeking to unseat Rep. Mary Bono Mack in California. “There’s no ideology when you’re trying to help someone who comes into the emergency room,” Israel said.

In the 2010 House races, Republicans and their allies were able to attack Democrats for planning to cut future Medicare spending. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the health care law which Obama signed last year will reduce Medicare outlays by $455 billion over ten years.  On top of that, Democrats on the deficit reduction “super committee” have proposed cuts, or savings, of as much as $500 billion in Medicare and Medicaid, if the Republicans would agree to some increases in tax revenue.

Given Democrats agreeing to such cuts in entitlement spending, how effectively can Israel’s stable of candidates make the case that it’s the Republicans who are out to harm or destroy Medicare?

Israel's answer: “We wouldn’t be having this conversation if the Republicans had agreed to put (even) a dollar on the table in revenues,… We’re saying we can minimize impact on important protections to the American people just by asking big oil companies to pay a little more, just by bringing revenues to the table.”

He said additional tax revenues would “alleviate any impact on other programs (such as Medicare). We don’t know what’s going to happen at the end of the day. Call me on Nov. 24 (the deadline for the super committee to report recommendations) and I may have a better sense of what the future holds.”

As for Obama’s unpopularity in some parts of the country, Israel said, “If I were the Republicans, I’d be more worried about the House Republican (polling) numbers than the president’s numbers. Look, the president’s numbers need to improve, but the House Republican numbers are toxic, radioactive. I think this could be one of the most challenging environments that incumbents have ever run in.”

If that observation were taken to its logical conclusion, it could mean a Republican president and a Democratic-controlled House in 2013.

Israel’s estimate is that the GOP will need to protect 50 to 60 incumbents while Democrats must protect only a dozen or so. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report currently says that 13 Republican-held seats are toss-up races, while eight Democratic-held seats are toss ups.

In 19 days, the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, i.e. “The Super Committee,” must report to Congress a plan to trim $1.2 trillion dollars off the United States’ national debt. Many members of Congress are nervous about whether the committee can reach their target goal on time.

“I think the mood is one of nervousness,” House Speaker John Boehner said yesterday, “I think there's pressure on both sides of the isle on the Super Committee and, frankly, on leadership on both sides of the isle in both chambers. We have to come to an agreement.”

While the Speaker may be anxious, the top Republican on the committee he assigned to the job is playing it cool.

“I haven't changed my position from Day One. I continue to approach this process with high hopes and tempered expectations,” said Chairman Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) when asked by NBC if he was nervous, “and I continue to have high hopes and tempered expectations.”

Hensarling also seemed to hint that some semblance of a bipartisan deal from the Super Committee could be announced soon.

“I just left a meeting with Sen. Murray,” (D-WA), his counterpart on the Super Committee. “We continue to negotiate. When we have something to announce you may not be the first people to hear it, but I assure you, you will hear something soon."

COLUMBIA, S.C. –Texas Gov. Rick Perry said last week he opposed allowing specialty license plates, featuring the Confederate battle flag in his home state, saying, “We don’t need to be opening old wounds.”

Those words resonate in this crucial primary state, where public placement of the flag remains a controversial issue. But when it comes to politics here, some South Carolinians on both sides of the issue agree with Perry that those wounds, however fresh, should be left alone. 

The flag issue came to a head here in July 2000 when, after protracted legislative debate, it was moved from the statehouse dome, its perch since 1962, to a monument just in front of the capital. (The NAACP has upheld an economic boycott of South Carolina tourism since 1999 due to the flag’s presence on statehouse grounds).

That debate coincided with the presidential race here, during which Sen. John McCain changed his opinion of the flag several times before ultimately calling for its removal from the statehouse after he lost the primary to then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush.

But now, even though the Confederate flag still has proponents in the South Carolina statehouse, some of them say Perry’s opposition to the Texas license plates shouldn’t be an issue here during the 2012 primary.

“It’s last Century’s battle. Let’s move forward,” said Republican state Sen. John Courson, a flag supporter, who wrote the 1994 Heritage Act, a compromise proposal to relocate the flag, which would later form the basis of the 2000 compromise.

“The Heritage Act debate was long, very emotional on both sides, and I just don’t think people want to revisit anything like that,” added Courson, who endorsed Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman for the Republican nomination.

Democratic state Sen. Robert Ford, who opposed the flag but worked on the 2000 compromise, noted that the state just kicked off a five-year commemoration of the 150^th anniversary of the Civil War.

“Nobody’s even talking about the Confederacy in that light anymore. Not since the celebration started,” said Ford, who is African-American and earlier this year urged other African-Americans to participate in the anniversary events.

“You just don’t add fuel to the fire that’s not even burning,” he added.

While Perry opposes the license plates, he has previously defended the historical value of Confederate symbols. In March 2000 (one month before South Carolina legislators voted to move the flag here) Perry, then Texas lieutenant governor, opposed NAACP-led efforts to remove plaques with Confederate symbols from a state Supreme Court building in Austin.

According to the Associated Press, Perry wrote a letter to the Texas Sons of Confederate Veterans, who supported the plaques. “Although this is an emotional issue, I want you to know that I oppose efforts to remove Confederate monuments, plaques, and memorials from public property,” he wrote.

Perry campaign spokesman Ray Sullivan said that while the plaques have been in the state building for decades, “The license plates have not been approved or implemented. There's a difference between removing decades old plaques and approving new license plates,” Sullivan said in an email to NBC News.

Proceeds from the sale of the proposed license plates, which first needs approval from the state Department of Motor Vehicles, would go to the Texas Sons of Confederate Veterans and be used to erect Confederate monuments after the group has recouped expenses, according to the Washington Post. 

Regarding Perry’s positions on the license plates and plaques, South Carolina political strategist Chip Felkel noted that nationally, the Confederate flag carries a bigger political stigma than among Southern states.  

“Even people who are staunch supporters of the Confederate battle flag or license plates also recognize the political minefield that that issue represents for a national candidate,” Felkel said.

But the leader of the South Carolina branch of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (which has its own license plate here) said he is not convinced by the argument of political expediency.

“Those who want to take safe positions when it’s politically correct these days to distance themselves from the Confederate flag, the voters themselves will figure it out,” said Mark Simpson, the group’s commander.

South Carolina NAACP president Lonnie Randolph suggested that while Perry’s shift may have been politically motivated, he believed it was a positive change.

“With him supporting [Confederate plaques] at the Supreme Court, but now not supporting license plates, that tells me that maybe he didn’t think he would be running for president one day,” Randolph said, adding, “He understands that if you want to be president, you should want to be a president of all the people, not just of some people.”

JOHNSTON, IA -- Speaking to employees of an advanced agricultural facility here yesterday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry struck a populist, disputing the premise of the phrase "too big to fail," including for sovereign nations. 

"I would never have bailed anyone out," Perry said at a town hall for staff of DuPont-owned Pioneer Hi-Bred. "If you were too big to fail, you were too big."

"I don't care whether you're a country, or whether you're a corporation, or whether you were a small business down on Main Street," he said yesterday. "And I sure haven't seen any small businesses being bailed out by government." 

The comment, which came as President Barack Obama attends a G20 summit clouded by concerns about Greece's debt, was in response to an employee's question about financial regulations.

Perry said of the Dodd-Frank legislation signed into law in 2010: "It institutionalized what they were trying to keep from happening."

He reiterated his claim that government has failed in oversight of the big banks, accusing the two of being "in bed together."

"I happen to think Wall Street and Washington, DC have been in bed together way too long. That's one of the problems that we have in this country, is that there are people who have too much money invested that end up in Washington, DC."

Perry claimed that his pledge to take a "sledgehammer" to the DC status quo is "why the establishment really doesn't like me and really doesn't like my tax plan."

In response to a question about the president's Iraq policy, Perry said he did not necessarily dispute the idea of bringing troops home, but he disagreed with the president's telegraphing of U.S. strategy.

"The issue I have is not with the president's proclamation that he wants to bring our young men and women home. I agree with that. I want to bring them home, too. But to signal to your enemy when you want to bring your troops home is a tactical error and I think irresponsible." 

Perry has previously said that Obama should have worked closely with commanders on the ground to formulate a timetable for withdrawal that should not be disclosed to enemy forces.

A former agriculture commissioner who frequently highlights his rural roots, Perry struck a sentimental tone while speaking to the employees at Pioneer, saying that they can help make America "a leader in food supply, or energy supply, or one thing that I think the world needs a huge supply of: Freedom."

In a legal complaint filed today, a public watchdog group charged that Herman Cain's top campaign aide illegally used corporate funds to pay for iPads and charter flights for Cain's fledgling presidential campaign.

The charges are based on documents -- first disclosed this week by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel -- showing that funds from a non-profit founded by Cain campaign Chief of Staff Mark Block (called Prosperity USA) were used to pay early expenses for Cain's presidential campaign.

Non-profit groups are barred by law from contributing to political campaigns.

The Cain campaign has said it has retained an outside counsel to investigate the allegations. Cain's campaign lawyer told NBC this week, "We take these allegations very seriously," but declined further comment or to identify the outside counsel.

The complaint alleging election law violations was filed with the Federal Election Commission by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW) in Washington. Melanie Sloan, the group's executive director, said:

"As hard as Mr. Cain is trying to prove himself a different kind of candidate, he still has to play by the same rules as everyone else. It is not sufficient for the Cain campaign to investigate itself. Rather, the FEC-- the federal agency charged with enforcing campaign finance laws -- must look into the matter."
   
Non-profit groups like Prosperity USA are not required to disclose their donors. But Americans for Prosperity, the conservative advocacy group for whom Block once worked, said Thursday it is reviewing "financial dealings" it had with Prosperity USA.

Americans for Prosperity -- at whose annual meeting Cain is speaking today -- also does not disclose its donors. It was founded by David and Charles Koch, of Koch Industries, and it's closely affiliated with the Tea Party.

EXETER, NH -- In front of more than 200 people, GOP front-runner Mitt Romney yesterday unveiled his most detailed spending policy to date, promising to slash government spending by $500 billion in his first term -- by cutting federal spending like Amtrak, reducing foreign aid, and reorganizing federal government programs to the state level.

He will give a similar speech today at the Americans for Prosperity summit in DC.

Reading from handwritten notes on yellow legal paper, Romney pointed to the financial crisis in Greece to illustrate his reasoning for fostering what he called "a smaller, simpler, smarter approach" to government.

"If we keep spending like we're spending and borrowing like we're borrowing, at some point we could face what Greece faces," he told the standing-room only audience yesterday.
 
The former Massachusetts governor promised to send major programs back to the state level -- including Medicaid and food stamps -- and get rid of government subsidies of Amtrak. "I like Amtrak, but $1.6 billion a year borrowed from China to pay for it is not a good idea," Romney said.

Perhaps one of the most notable cuts Romney outlined was a decrease of government employment by 10%. Touting his often-cited private-sector experience, he vowed to tie federal government salaries to going rates in the private sector. "The principles of business -- conservative fiscal principles -- they work in government, they worked in the Olympics," Romney said.

In a new move, Romney also said he would attempt to eliminate union labor collaborations with government by repealing the Davis-Bacon act, which requires union labor and wages for government construction projects.

Romney argued that if his cuts are not adopted, other countries like Russia, China and Iran will "reshape the world in their image."

His proposed cuts came along with his usual arguments for repealing Obama's health care plan and decrease foreign aid substantially. "We give $10 million in foreign aid a year to China," Romney said. "[It] makes no sense at all..I'd stop sending foreign aid to countries that can take care of themselves."

For the first time, Romney also offered the option to choose between traditional and private Medicare options in a USA Today op-ed outlining his plan.
 
This position appears to be at least a partial embrace of Paul Ryan's Medicare proposal, as it would allow senior citizens the choice of a private or public plan. Romney and Ryan met in person last week, per NBC's Garrett Haake.

Embracing his front-runner status, Romney also encouraged his supporters to be prepared for backlash from detractors. He launched a pre-emptive strike against the Democratic Party regarding potential responses to his spending plan.

"There some who say, 'When you talk about fiscal responsibility and cutting a program, you're showing you're heartless,'" Romney said.

"We have to say, 'No no we have a moral responsibility to not spend more than we take in,'" he said of the Republican Party.

And, as expected, the Democrats -- and the Obama re-election campaign -- fired back. "The inevitable result of Romney’s arbitrary limits on federal spending would be deep cuts to education, infrastructure, innovation, and clean energy, devastating efforts to invest in the future of our country even as other nations around the world are racing to make these investments in economic competitiveness," the Obama campaign said in a memo to reporters.

"Romney has proposed additional tax cuts for corporations and wealthy Americans," the memo added. "These regressive tax cuts for corporations and unearned income would shift a greater share of the tax burden onto wages earned by the middle class. Romney has also supported Republican budget plans that protect tax subsidies for oil and gas companies."

A major conservative advocacy group, funded by Koch family oil interests, says it is reviewing its "financial dealings" with a Wisconsin charity headed by Herman Cain's campaign manager, raising fresh questions about the source of tens of thousands of dollars in funds that were used to pay expenses for Cain's presidential campaign. 

The Center for Public Integrity reported late Thursday that Americans for Prosperity, one of the largest and most prominent of conservative political groups, has confirmed unspecified financial transactions with two closely linked Wisconsin non-profits -- Prosperity USA and Wisconsin Prosperity Network -- that were founded by Mark Block, Cain's campaign manager. 

One of those groups, Prosperity USA, paid for $37,000 in expenses, including iPads, charter flights and items, for Cain's presidential campaign, according to financial documents disclosed this week by the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel.

Non-profits are barred by law from paying for campaign expenses, and when the allegations  first surfaced this week -- at the same time as the sexual harassment charges against the presidential candidate -- Cain said he would order an investigation of whether there were improper campaign violations. 

Cain's campaign lawyer, Steve Bienek, declined to answer questions from NBC about the transactions between the Wisconsin charities headed by Block and the campaign, saying only that the campaign  has retained an outside law firm to review them.

"We take these allegations very seriously," he said. 

But the Center for Public Integrity report by Peter Stone raises additional questions as to whether Americans for Prosperity (AFP) funds were used by Block to pay Cain campaign expenses. AFP had "financial dealings with Prosperity USA and/or the Wisconsin Prosperity Network," Levi Russell, the spokesman for AFT is quoted as saying. 

(Russell confirmed the transactions to NBC News, but declined to elaborate, and added that the group had no reason to believe there was any wrongdoing on its part.) 

Some of those transactions are hinted at in the documents released by the Journal-Sentinel: They show a $5,000 expense in February 2011 for Cain to attend a meeting of a group called RightNation "at request of AFP" and that Block made a trip to Washington to meet with AFP's president Tim Phillips and David Koch."

Koch and his oil industry brother Charles Koch were the founders of Americans for Prosperity, but the group -- like most non-profits -- declines to identify its donors. The group is having a major conference in Washington starting Friday at which Cain and other presidential candidates are scheduled to speak.

What a wild week, and it’s not yet over… The latest developments in the Cain story… Cain: “This stuff is totally fabricated”… October jobs reports: Economy adds 80,000 jobs and unemployment rate falls to 9.0%... The latest news from the G20… Romney vows to cut spending and appears to embrace the Tea Party… Corzine resigns from MF Global… Both Cain and Romney address Americans for Prosperity summit in DC, while Bachmann, Gingrich, Paul, Perry, and Santorum speak at Reagan dinner in Des Moines… And Huntsman to appear on “Meet the Press.”

*** What a wild week: The original news -- and subsequent reporting -- that Herman Cain was accused of inappropriate sexual behavior back in the 1990s has created the first scandal of the 2012 presidential campaign, the first media feeding frenzy, and the first GOP circular firing squad. It’s been wild a week, and no one is quite sure how this story will end. Will it bring down Cain’s meteoric rise in the polls (and even his entire campaign)? Or will it serve to bolster his support (his campaign says it has raised $1.2 million over the past three days, per NBC’s Andrew Rafferty)? According to the first national poll taken after the story exploded -- a Washington Post/ABC survey -- it doesn’t appear to be hurting him, at least so far. “Seven in 10 Republicans say reports that Cain made unwanted advances toward two employees … do not matter when it comes to picking a candidate.” And the poll shows him running neck-and-neck with Romney nationally (with Romney at 24% and Cain at 23%).

AP

Herman Cain in Washington, DC on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011.

*** The latest developments: Here are the latest developments in the story: Both Politico and the New York Times report, according to multiple sources, that Cain engaged in “flirty banter” that “crossed over into propositions” and made a “sexual overture” to Female Accuser A (who worked in the National Restaurant Association’s government-relations office); the NRA will decide today if it will allow Female Accuser B (who worked in the communications office) to release a statement telling her side of the story; Politico reported that Accuser B received a $45,000 payout; an organization supporting Cain has produced a Web video equating the media’s scrutiny to a “high-tech lynching”; and Cain’s wife Gloria will not appear in a FOX interview tonight, as was originally thought.

*** Cain: “This stuff is totally fabricated”: Cain continued to defend himself on Sean Hannity’s radio program, NBC’s Lisa Myers reported on “TODAY” this morning. “This is absolutely fabrication, man,” Cain said. “I don’t know what else to say. How many more ways can I say this stuff is totally fabricated.” There was also this exchange in the interview:

Hannity: Did you tell a woman she looked good? That that dress looks hot?
Cain: Nope
Hannity: Anything?
Cain: Nope
Hannity: Any flirtation that you can think of?
Cain: Nope, nope.

*** 80,000 jobs added in October, unemployment rate falls to 9.0%: While it’s been a wild week, the news is far from over. This morning, we received the monthly jobs report. The verdict: Another mixed report. The AP says: “The Labor Department says the economy added 80,000 jobs last month, the fewest in four months and below September's revised total of 158,000. The unemployment rate dipped to 9 percent. Businesses added 104,000 jobs, below September's total. Government shed 24,000 jobs.” That said, “The report included some positive signs. The government revised August and September's figures upward by 102,000. Average hourly earnings rose. And the unemployment rate fell for the first time.”

*** The news from the G20: Also today, President Obama remains in France for the G20 gathering. In addition to the news that Greece’s prime minister has called off his proposed referendum on the debt deal, the other story coming out of the G20 will be promises of more international resources to Europe for their version of a TARP bailout fund. But notably, the U.S. will NOT being ponying up more money for the International Monetary Fund. The reason the U.S. is standing firm on this, according to Obama administration officials, is that they believe Europe has the resources to do this on their own. After all, the U.S. didn't use int'l loans for TARP. (Politically, imagine if Obama did ask for more U.S. money for the IMF? To say it would become a domestic GOP attack line on him is an understatement.) Obama will hold a news conference at the G20 at 10:15 am ET, and he heads back home later this afternoon.

*** Romney vows to cut spending: The other big 2012 news today is Romney’s speech -- on deficits and spending -- this afternoon at the Americans for Prosperity summit in DC. Romney previewed his remarks yesterday in a USA Today op-ed, as well as in a speech yesterday in New Hampshire. NBC’s Jo Ling Kent reports on Romney’s NH speech: “In front of more than 200 people, GOP front runner Mitt Romney unveiled his most detailed spending policy to date, promising to slash government spending by $500 billion in his first term by cutting federal spending like Amtrak, reducing foreign aid, and reorganizing federal government programs to the state-level. Reading from handwritten notes on yellow legal paper, Romney pointed to the financial crisis in Greece to illustrate his reasoning for fostering what he called ‘a smaller, simpler, smarter approach’ to government. ‘If we keep spending like we're spending and borrowing like we're borrowing, at some point we could face what Greece faces,’ he told the standing-room only audience.”

*** Embracing the Tea Party? One way to view Romney’s speech yesterday, as well as his op-ed, is as an embrace of the Tea Party. For starters, he stood beneath a banner that read, “Cut the spending,” and he stressed in his speech that “Deficits do matter” (even though the former GOP vice president he has praised once stated that they don’t). He also appears to be embracing Paul Ryan’s Medicare plan, though in a modified way. “Tomorrow's Medicare should give beneficiaries a generous defined contribution and allow them to choose between private plans and traditional Medicare. And lower-income future retirees should receive the most assistance,” he wrote in his USA Today op-ed. “I believe that competition will improve Medicare and the coverage that seniors receive.”

AP

*** Corzine resigns: Jon Corzine’s announced resignation from MF Global is an embarrassing end to a onetime rising political star. To resign a day after the bankruptcy and day after word that MF Global was trying to cover up losses by shifting the books makes Corzine look guilty. Why not stick around and fix this? Why run away? Perhaps there are legal reasons to do. Perhaps he thinks it's the honorable thing to resign. Maybe he was an absentee CEO and is embarrassed this happened on his watch. Whatever the explanation, it's not good for Corzine's reputation. The whole point of Corzine's relevance in politics was his knowledge and success of the financial world. Politicians can recover from sex scandals because the public is willing to separate the personal flaws if the professional work is on the up and up. Corzine's fall may be harder to recover from.

*** On the 2012 trail: Cain also speaks at the Americans for Prosperity Summit in DC… This evening beginning at 8:30 pm ET, Paul, Bachmann, Gingrich, Santorum, and Perry (in that order) speak  at the Ronald Reagan Dinner in Des Moines, IA… And Huntsman remains in South Carolina.

*** Friday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up (with guest host Chris Cillizza): Reaction to the new job numbers with National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling and Moody’s Chief Economist Mark Zandi… One of us (!!!) talks to philanthropist and Microsoft founder Bill Gates… The latest news from President Obama’s G20 trip in France… And the latest on Cain and more 2012 news with USA Today’s Susan Page, National Review/Bloomberg View’s Ramesh Ponnuru, and Jennifer Palmieri of the Center for American Progress.

*** Sunday’s “Meet the Press”: NBC’s David Gregory will interview Huntsman.

Countdown to Election Day 2011: 4 days
Countdown to Iowa caucuses: 60 days
Countdown to South Carolina primary: 78 days
Countdown to Florida primary: 88 days
Countdown to Nevada caucuses: 92 daysCountdown to Super Tuesday: 123 days

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BACHMANN: She said the “Occupy Wall Street” protesters had their ire directed in the wrong place, per NBC’s Jamie Novogrod and Morgan Parmet. “It's for your sake and for your future America and ‘Occupy Wall Street’ in particular needs to wake up and stop blaming the free market, stop blaming capitalism, stop blaming job creators for the failures that have been created by selfish politicians.”

And Founding Fathers established New York as a financial capital? "You see, there's a reason our Founding Fathers decided to establish our political capital in a different city than our financial capital, because it's time for us to reaffirm the wisdom of that decision by getting Washington D.C., out of free markets. And I'm running for president of the United States because I understand the difference between free markets and a Bernie Madoff style of government."

Bachmann also said in Adel, IA, last night, per NBC’s Jamie Novogrod that Al Franken's contested 2008 election to the Minnesota senate seat, in which he defeated incumbent Republican Norm Coleman by narrowest of margins, was a "stolen election." "But for Al Franken, in a stolen election by the way -- although that probably doesn’t surprise you,” Bachmann charged. “But for Al Franken we wouldn’t have Obamacare.  We wouldn’t have Dodd-Frank.  And you see, that’s why all our chips are on the line."

CAIN: A major conservative advocacy group funded by Koch family oil interests says it is reviewing its "financial dealings" with a Wisconsin charity headed by Herman Cain's campaign manager, raising fresh questions about the source of tens of thousands of dollars in funds that were used to pay expenses for Cain's presidential campaign, NBC’s Michael Isikoff reports. The Center for Public Integrity reported late Thursday that Americans for Prosperty, one of the largest and most prominent of conservative political groups, has confirmed unspecified financial transactions with two closely linked Wisconsin non-profits-- Prosperity USA and Wisconsin Prosperity Network-- that were founded by Mark Block, Cain's campaign manager. One of those groups, Prosperity USA, paid thousands in expenses for Cain's campaign, according to financial documents disclosed this week by the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel. Non-profits are barred by law from paying for campaign expenses. (More to come later this morning.)

Americans for Herman Cain is up with a new fundraising video for its 9-9-9 fund, called “High-Tech Lynching” now blaming the “liberal media” and heavily invoking Clarence Thomas, NBC’s Matt Loffman reports.

The Cain campaign says it has raised $1.2 million in the past three days, NBC’s Andrew Rafferty reports. Cain Tweeted that his new Iowa Fund has raised more than $255,000 since its creation this week. The goal, according to the Tweet, is to raise $999,000 (get it – 9-9-9?) by Nov. 9.

“Herman Cain’s campaign yesterday backed off explosive charges that GOP rival Rick Perry’s campaign was the source for a damaging story linking Cain to sexual harassment of female staffers while he headed the National Restaurant Association,” the New York Post writes. “All the evidence we had pointed to Mr. Anderson being the source. We are absolutely thrilled that he came on your show said it wasn’t him,” said Mark Block, Cain’s chief of staff, on FOX. “Mr. Cain has always had the utmost respect for him.”

Cain got away from DC and headed up to New York yesterday morning to talk foreign policy with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Afterward, he put out a statement that ends with this: Under a Cain Presidency, his message to Iran is this: “If you’re messing with Israel, you’re messing with the U.S.A.” This, of course, is after him raising the specter of war with Iran in an interview with FOX's Bill O'Reilly.

He was back in DC by last night at the Cosmos Club. According to its website, the club did not allow women as members until 1988. Also spotted walking into the club were The Daily Caller’s Tucker Carlson and Fox News Brett Baier.

Cain continued to dig in yesterday, telling Sean Hannity, courtesy of NBC’s Parmet: "Sean, this is absolutely fabrication, man. I don't know what else to say. How many more ways can I say this stuff is totally fabricated."

HUNTSMAN: At a town hall meeting with students and faculty at the all-women Converse College in Spartanburg, S.C., Jon Huntsman took a veiled swipe at Mitt Romney's call for punitive tariffs on Chinese imports, NBC’s Ali Weinberg reports. "Some of the guys I’m running against -- I won’t be mean and nasty right now -- but they say, 'Why don’t we put a tariff on China, because they’re manipulating their currency?' And I say, that’s a stupid idea. Why would you want to start a trade war?" He made the remarks while answering a question from an 8-year-old boy about how his experience as the ambassador to China would help him as president. He also repeated his claim that he would "surprise the marketplace" in New Hampshire and then "come South and do it in South Carolina," despite his scant presence in the state and his poor showing in polls here.

Earlier, at a barbecue restaurant in Columbia, Huntsman said of Herman Cain's still-developing allegations, "My concern is it takes a lot of bandwidth out of our discussion about this country."

PERRY: Rick Perry reaffirmed he had nothing to do with the leak about Cain, NBC’s Parmet reports. “No apology needed,” Perry told CNN. “We found out about this the same time that I suppose the rest of America found out about it. Both on the Internet or the next day in the news. I don’t know how to tell any other way except knew nothing about it, sir.” He said if someone on his campaign were found to be responsible, they’d be “out the door. … Gone.” (Honest question though: Even if the accusations are true, that person would be fired?)

To that point, here’s what former Bill Clinton aide Paul Begala wrote in The Daily Beast: "Here's the Begala Standard: if an attack is fair, factual, and about the public record, it's not dirty. Business experience -- and, yes, one's conduct around the office or in an after-work watering hole -- is relevant. Scrutinizing it is fair. You don't attack someone's race or religion or gender or sexual orientation. You don't go after family. You don't pry into private lives, but you look at public performance in office, or in prior campaigns; you look at business and financial matters, votes and quotes (and for the presidency and vice presidency I think health is a legitimate inquiry). And there's nothing wrong with encouraging journalists to do so as well." (Hat tip: Taegan Goddard.)

ROMNEY: Mitt Romney unveiled his most detailed spending policy to date, promising, in his first term, to slash government spending by $500 billion by cutting 10% of the federal government’s workforce; eliminating union labor collaborations with government by repealing the Davis-Bacon act requiring union labor and wages for government construction projects; cutting subsidies for Amtrak, reducing foreign aid, and reorganizing federal government programs, like Medicaid and food stamps, which he would make have the states administer, NBC’s Jo Ling Kent reports.

The Boston Globe notes the stagecraft and messaging that sounds an awful lot like the Tea Party: “Standing beneath a large banner that read, ‘Cut the Spending,’ Romney told a packed crowd of several hundred at the Exeter Town Hall that the country had a ‘moral responsibility’ to reduce government spending.  ‘Deficits do matter, they matter a lot,’ he said.”

He, once again, though awkwardly joked about his wife’s spending habits: “As we were coming in Ann turned to me and she said, ‘Do you want me to speak a few words tonight,’ ” Romney said, per the Globe. “I said, ‘Well I don’t think so. This is a speech on spending.’ She looked at me, and I said, ‘Just kidding.’ ”

SANTORUM: On whether he has any skeletons in his closet, he said in Iowa, per NBC’s Alex Moe: “I think one of the things that you can say when you’ve run 3 statewide races in PA and you’ve been in front of the national media for 12 years, you’ve been kicked around a lot. And, certainly people will find out things I’ve done, but it’s not like it will be anything new.”

How about this Yogi Berra-style quote? “We want to win [in Iowa], and that’s what we are aiming for, but obviously if you are sitting in the back of the polls, a win is not necessarily the only way you can come out of here with a win.” 

“House Speaker John Boehner said today he is willing to entertain additional revenues as part of a plan to cut the nation’s deficit, but he declined to provide specifics,” the Boston Globe writes. “I do think there’s room for revenues,” Boehner said, “but there is clearly a limit to the revenues that may be available.”

That said, “A group of 33 Republican senators sent a letter to members of the panel insisting on ‘no net tax increase,’” the New York Times says. “The letter, circulated by Senator Jim DeMint, Republican of South Carolina, said that any deficit-reduction deal should also “balance our budget within 10 years, place entitlements on a path to fiscal solvency” and include ‘comprehensive tax reform that lowers rates and promotes economic growth.’” 

More:” When Republicans speak of additional revenue, they include the proceeds of selling radio spectrum licenses, higher Medicare premiums for some beneficiaries and the increase in revenues expected to result from economic growth. Democrats talk about higher taxes on high incomes.”

And don’t miss NBC’s Luke Russert debrief on the Super Committee talks. 

“The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee today announced radio spots aimed at 25 House Republicans they hope to unseat next fall to reclaim the majority,” Roll Call reports. “The ads mostly focus on ethics questions, and will air in the districts of these Members: GOP Reps. Rick Crawford (Ark.), Dan Lungren (Calif.), Jeff Denham (Calif.), Elton Gallegly (Calif.), Mary Bono Mack (Calif.), Scott Tipton (Colo.), Daniel Webster (Fla.), Vern Buchanan (Fla.), David Rivera (Fla.), Steve King (Iowa), Timothy Johnson (Ill.), Bobby Schilling (Ill.), Larry Bucshon (Ind.), Roscoe Bartlett (Md.), Dan Benishek (Mich.), Charles Bass (N.H.), Joe Heck (Nev.), Ann Marie Buerkle (N.Y.), Lou Barletta (Pa.), Charlie Dent (Pa.), Kristi Noem (S.D.), Francisco "Quico" Canseco (Texas), Sean Duffy (Wis.), Reid Ribble (Wis.) and David McKinley (W.Va.).”

SOUTH CAROLINA: “The South Carolina Supreme Court said Thursday that it will hear arguments in a challenge to the first-in-the-South presidential primary on Nov. 14,” the AP reports. “Last month, four counties sued the state Election Commission and the state Republican and Democratic parties. Beaufort, Chester, Greenville and Spartanburg counties said in their lawsuit that the state lacks the authority to conduct a primary and can’t force them to spend taxpayer money on what they described as private event.”

Whether Herman Cain survives the controversy stemming from allegations of sexual harassment from his days at the National Restaurant Association, this is hardly his first controversy, gaffe, or misstep this campaign.

The Washington Post’s Dan Balz makes that point today, noting, in part:

“It is understandable that Cain doesn’t have answers to all the questions that are being thrown at him. He is in most ways a political newcomer not steeped in the policy discussions of an experienced politician. But he has now been in the race for many months. He has debated numerous times. He has done even more interviews.

“Even if the sexual harassment issue proves to be a transitory problem — and there’s nothing to suggest it will disappear quickly — Cain will still need to demonstrate a surer grasp and an ability to master the learning curve that all successful candidates master.”

In addition to Cain’s changing or evolving story on what he did or didn’t know in relation to the sexual harassment settlements, his parsing of the words “settlements vs. agreements,” and saying race played a part in the story, Cain has made a habit during this campaign of backtracks and stumbles on a host of issues.

For instance, he backtracked and parsed when asked whether he’d be “comfortable” having a Muslim in his administration. He said he would impose a test of how much someone loves America before choosing to hire them, if he believes them.

He denied during a FOX debate that he said communities have a right to ban a mosque from being built, blaming staff that helped Chris Wallace prep for the debate for misquoting him. Yet, it was on Wallace’s FOX News Sunday show where the exchange originated.

He also stumbled when talking about abortion, indicating he was pro-choice in some instances during an interview with Piers Morgan on CNN and then later saying he was against abortion in all instances, and that he was tired during that interview because of too much campaigning.

Aside from struggling to explain, especially the sales-tax component, of 9-9-9, asked about “Occupy Wall Street,” he said, “If you don’t have a job, and you’re not rich, blame yourself.” He said at a later debate he was just talking about the “Occupy” protesters -- not the 14 million unemployed at large.

He’s invoked race. During this campaign, he said black voters were “brainwashed” into voting for Democrats and that he had "left the Democratic plantation a long time ago.” He has also invoked race heavily in his past writings, when, for example, in 2005 he wrote of “Separate Water Fountains” when it came to Social Security.

And then there’s foreign policy. He said he didn’t have a plan for Afghanistan and would defer to advisers; he was unaware of the Palestinian right of return; he said China was seeking nuclear weapons, though it already has them -- he backtracked today, saying he misspoke; he gave that “Ubeki-beki-beki-stan-stan” comment about not knowing the leaders of foreign countries like that fictitious land; and he said in an interview with Bill O’Reilly that he would want more ships in the Persian Gulf, even if it prompted a war with Iran -- “That would be perfectly all right,” Cain said, which Balz noted, “because I believe we have a superior capability.”

Obama White House officials mounted a swift counter-offensive Thursday over a congressional vote to subpoena internal emails relating to the Solyndra loan, calling the vote by the House Energy and Commerce committee an unprecedented and unjustified intrusion on confidential executive branch communications.

The subpoena "is a fishing expedition {and} a political stunt and which is designed to tie up White House staff," one senior administration official told NBC News. Officials signaled they are prepared to invoke executive privilege, if necessary, setting up a potential political and constitutional showdown between the president and the GOP controlled House.

The committee’s 14 to 9 vote follows a months-long investigation into a problem plagued Energy Department loan that has cost taxpayers $535 million. It also came just hours after the White House released more embarrassing emails relating to Solyndra, indicating that officials were well aware of potential problems with the solar maker well before the company filed for bankruptcy.

On Nov. 3, 2010, for example, Kenneth Baer, a senior Office of Management and Budget communications official, forwarded an email to senior officials throughout the administration containing a trade press story with the headline: "Solyndra Spells Disaster for DOE Loan Guarantee Program."

Six minutes later, Rod O’Conner, Energy Secretary Steve Chu’s chief of staff, replied: "Great day all around. Want to kill someone."

"You are not alone," Heather Zichal, deputy assistant to the president for energy and climate change policy, replied four minutes after that.

Last September, Solyndra filed for bankruptcy and its offices were raided by the FBI, part of a federal probe into the firm’s dealings with the government. Republicans say they want to know whether the decision to grant the loan was influenced by political cronyism since one of the lead investors in Solyndra was a prominent political donor to the president, Tulsa billionaire George Kaiser, who had multiple meetings at the White House.

"It's time we get to the bottom of his whole mess," said Rep. Fred Upton, the chairman of the House panel, during today’s committee vote.

But White House officials say they have already turned over thousands of pages of documents containing communications between White House officials and the Energy Department. None back up the "political influence" charge, they say. They also say they have tried without success to negotiate a compromise with House Republicans over those documents still being sought- internal White House memos and emails, including those sent from the president’s BlackBerry, that mention the word "Solyndra." One official said that the material being sought could involve "tens of thousands of pages" but that most of them are press clips and routine communications among the president’s advance staff involving President Obama’s visit to Solyndra in May 2010.

Still, the subpoena could put Obama in an awkward position since he had sharply criticized President Bush for invoking executive privilege. (At the top of their press release Thursday announcing the subpoena vote, House Republicans recycled a quote from President Obama the day after he took office: "The government should not keep information confidental merely because public official smight be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fears.")

But Obama officials noted today that the president’s previous criticism of Bush’s executive privilege claims was restricted to cases where documents were being sought for investigations looking into serious wrongdoing involving the Bush administration.

While acknowledging that Solyndra may have been a "bad loan," one White House official said: "Where is the evidence of wrongdoing?"

Although they wouldn’t address the question directly, White House officials appeared to leave little doubt they are prepared to make an executive privilege if House Republicans won’t compromise. A recent letter from Kathryn Ruemmler, White House counsel, described the request for documents as encroaching upon ng "longstanding and significant institutional Executive Branch confidentiality interests" -- standard language that precedes executive privilege claims.

The Senate on Thursday blocked another portion of President Obama’s jobs plan, a $60 billion bill to fund infrastructure projects around the country.

This is the second piece of the president’s proposal to be voted on and rejected in the Senate. The bill would have invested $50 billion dollars to fund immediate highway, transit, rail and aviation projects. And it would have put $10 billion toward a national infrastructure bank.

The Senate voted 51-49 in favor of a procedural motion to bring up the component of President Obama's jobs bill, nine short of the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent who caucuses with Democrats, joined Republicans in opposition to the bill.

Republicans lined up unanimously against the measure which would have been paid for by a .7 percent surtax on millionaires.

In a second, 47-53 party-lines vote, the Senate blocked a Republican alternative that would have cost $12 billion paid for by $18 billion in spending cuts.

The day began in the Senate with a tense back-and-forth on the Senate floor between Majority Leader Reid and Minority Leader McConnell over which party was more serious about creating jobs.

Calling each other "friend" on multiple occasions, McConnell accused Democrats of putting forward legislation designed to fail. Reid said Republicans were solely focused on obstructing Democrats and defeating President Obama.

"The Democrats have deliberately designed this bill to fail, deliberately designed the bill to fail. So the truth is, Democrats are more interested in building a campaign message than in rebuilding roads and bridges," McConnell said.

Reid replied, "My friend the Republican leader, who I care a great deal about personally, is absolutely wrong."

He added, "My friend, the Republican Leader, comes before this body today and says we should do our campaign speeches next year when the world knows that my friend has said his number-one priority in this Congress is to defeat President Obama."

Reid accused McConnell of being more focused on defeating the president and taking over as Majority Leader than on the economy.

On the other side of the Capitol, House speaker John Boehner criticized the Senate for not taking up what Republicans are calling the "Forgetten 15” - jobs bills that have been passed by House Republicans.

"We've got these 15 bills that continue to sit in the United States Senate.  All of the steps that we can take right now to remove some of the barriers to job creation.  Listen, I think it's time to find common ground.  Many of these bills have broad, bipartisan support and there's no reason for the Senate not to take them up," Boehner said.

Democrats and Republicans sparred all day in the Senate over who had the better infrastructure package.

McConnell said the $12billion Republican plan "doesn't add to the deficit, doesn't raise taxes, empowers the states to make decisions on the local level, and is designed to gain bipartisan support"

Reid argued the Democrats proposal would put "hundreds of thousands" of construction workers pack to work.

Back in March, Herman Cain reassured conservative bloggers in a conference call that there weren’t any skeletons in his closet.

“They’re gonna find that I have a 20 handicap, and it has never gotten lower,” he joked, according to audio posted by The Daily Caller. “They’re gonna find that in my closet. Other than them finding that I have a mediocre golf game -- I play just well enough in order to be able to enjoy it.”

But note as he goes through the litany of things one could look for in a closet, he’s very specific and never mentions a sexual harassment financial agreement. In fact, he says, “If they come up with something and try to damage my reputation, they will have made it up.”

That’s one way he has tried to swat away the allegations in this current controversy.

Cain said on the call in March that other than his mediocre golf game, “I can assure you, I have an original copy of my birth certificate. I don’t have any illegitimate babies. I don’t have any mistresses. You know, you tick 'em off, and I can tell you. … I have never been arrested. I’ve never gotten a DUI warrant. Uh, absolutely none of that…”

“So, no, I don’t have any of those kind of skeletons in my closet and what I have told people, if they come up with something and try to damage my reputation, they will have made it up.”

House Speaker John Boehner dismissed Grover Norquist as a "random" person on Thursday despite a week's worth of frequent references to the antitax activist on Capitol Hill.

The name of Norquist, the Americans for Tax Reform president, has been on the lips of just about every political figure who's expressed frustration at his influence over Republicans, and their unflinching resistance to tax hikes in any form.

The reason is Norquist's "Taxpayer Protection Pledge," the manifesto Norquist first drafted in 1986 which opposes increases in taxes. Boehner and another 235 House members have signed the pledge, as have 41 senators. The vast majority of signatories are Republicans, and only six Republicans in each chamber haven't signed the pledge. (All of the GOP's presidential candidates but Jon Huntsman have also signed.)

But today, when asked by NBC News about Norquist's sway over the GOP conference, Boehner downplayed the relationship.

“We are doing everything we are doing to get our economy back to work. It's not often I'm asked about some random person in America," the Speaker said of Norquist.

NBC News: Random person?

"Our focus is about creating jobs, not talking about somebody's personality."

NBC News: What he stands for, is that a positive influence in your conference?

"What he stands for???"

NBC News: Yes, his no tax hikes under any circumstances pledge, is that positive for your conference?

"Listen, our conference is opposed to tax hikes because we believe tax hikes will hurt our economy and put Americans out of work."

Boehner’s reference to Norquist as a “random person” struck many on Capitol Hill as odd; privately, GOP aides will often discuss Norquist’s influence on GOP politics and admit its significance.

The test of Norquist's sway, though, will come in the next few weeks, when the bipartisan, bicameral supercommittee is set to make its recommendations as to how to achieve as much as $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction. Republican members of the panel are under pressure to agree to new revenues through tax reform, a prospect which Norquist has already decried.

Democrats and even some Republicans feel he has undue influence on deficit discussions because Republicans worry if they support any type of tax increase, Norquist’s group will attack them come election season.

Already, proponents of those kinds of reforms have begun to test the fealty of the GOP to Norquist.

Alan Simpson, the former Republican Senator from Wyoming and former co-chairman of the president’s fiscal commission said, “If Grover Norquist is now the most powerful man in America, he should run for president. There's no question about his power. And let me tell you, he has people enthralled. That's a terrible phrase. Lincoln used it. It means your mind has been captured. You're in bondage with a soul.”

Yesterday on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said of Norquist’s influence on Republicans: “They are in a thrall -- they're in submission to a man whose singular focus keeping taxes low for wealthy, they fear his political retribution.”

That was the second shot Reid had taken at Norquist. Earlier in the week, he said: "My Republican friends, these poor folks, are being led like puppets by Grover Norquist ... They’re giving speeches that we should compromise on our deficit, but never do they compromise on Grover Norquist. He is their leader.”

Since Sunday night, when the story broke about the sexual harassment allegations surrounding Herman Cain, his campaign says it has raised more than $1 million.

Since IowaFund.com was launched this morning at 6, it has pulled in $100,000, the campaign said.

NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell reported this morning on an email solicitation to supporters from Cain’s Iowa chairman Steve Grubbs. In it, he said, "The other Republican candidates, the liberal media, and even President Obama have begun to publicly attack Mr. Cain because they are intimidated by his ‘9-9-9 Plan’ and his ability to connect with Americans. As Mr. Cain continues to pull away in the polls, we expect the attacks to continue."

Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon told NBC, "Mr. Cain's supporters around the country have rallied around him, and we have been encouraged by their strong showing."

As a result, the Cain campaign has gone up with ads on conservative talk radio shows of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

Jenny Sanford, the ex-wife of former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, has written an op-ed in praise of Herman Cain.

The most poignant parts of the editorial (published today in The State newspaper) are when she condemns the media, calling it “over-focused… on the small, the controversial and the sensational.” (She never mentions Cain’s sexual harassment allegations directly).

“They will focus on the arrows being thrown at candidates and their proposals instead of challenging others to propose new solutions,” she writes of the media. 

She then adds that she is familiar with media focusing more on candidates’ personal conduct than policies.

“I know this story well," she writes. "A ‘fresh face’ appears on the political scene and puts forth new proposals that challenge the status quo and then is attacked viciously on his proposals and then his character. Many of these challengers don’t make it; some shouldn’t.”

Sanford’s experience here is two-fold: First, she was at the time married to Gov. Sanford, when he revealed that he was having an affair with an Argentine woman. Before that news surfaced, Sanford was considered a likely and promising candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

Second, Jenny Sanford also endorsed then-Rep. Nikki Haley (who was a "fresh face" given that her opponents had been in South Carolina politics for much longer than she) in the 2010 gubernatorial election. Haley was also the subject of allegations of an affair by a South Carolina blogger. Rather than deter voters, those unsubstantiated charges seemed to help coalesce supporters around her.

"Time will tell if Herman Cain becomes the next political newcomer to be elected," Jenny Sanford adds of Cain, "and I, for one, am thankful he's in the presidential race."

A House panel voted Thursday to subpoena internal White House documents relating to the bankrupt Solyndra company, setting stage for a political showdown that could force President Obama to invoke "executive privilege" to prevent turning over the material to Congress.

The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, which is part of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, voted 14-9 along party lines to approve the subpoena, the merits of which were debated for over an hour. After attempts by Democrats on the committee to delay the vote, the subpoena was approved.

House Republicans accused the White House of "stalling tactics" for refusing to turn over internal White House emails -- including those sent from the president's BlackBerry -- that they believe will show the Department of Energy loan to Solyndra was influenced by political favoritism. One of the firm's lead investors, George Kaiser, was a major political donor to the president and the  firm, which went bankrupt last September, is now the subject of an FBI probe.

"We have seen a half a billion dollars of taxpayer money out the door. It's time we get to the bottom of his whole mess," said Rep. Fred Upton, the chairman of the energy and commerce committee.

Democrats on the panel derided the GOP move as a "fishing expedition," especially since it came just hours after the White House turned over another 20,000 pages of Energy Department documents -- including emails with White House officials -- on Tuesday night.

According to Upton's office, the two ranking members on the committee from both parties attended a meeting at the White House Wednesday with White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, but they "failed to produce internal White House documents related to Solyndra or answer basic questions about the documents."

White House spokemsan Eric Schultz said in an email after the votel: "The White House has been clear with the Committee that we are willing to cooperate with legitimate oversight requests that are tailored to balance the important institutional interests of both branches. We are disappointed that the Committee has refused to discuss their requests with us in good faith, and has instead chosen a partisan route, proceeding with subpoenas that are unprecedented and unwarranted."

Talking about the new documents turned over the committee Tuesday night, a White House official said: "This could have been a botched loan, but there's nothing to suggest anything untoward happened here," emphasizing the approval for the Solyndra loan was made by career officials at the Department of Energy.

Still, there were signs that the political stakes over Solyndra were intensifying for the White House. An assertion of executive privilege -- already hinted at by Ruemmler -- would force the president to invoke a claim he had criticized President Bush for repeatedly using.

Meanwhile, a conservative advocacy group, the Americans for Prosperity -- funded by the Koch brothers, owners of a major oil company -- began running political attack ads this week blasting what it calls "Obama's Green Giveaway," featuring a clip of the president touting the loan, saying "the true engine of economic growth will always be companies like Solyndra." It then contrasts that statement  with headlines about Solyndra's bankruptcy, the FBI probe and reports about the firm's politically connected investors.

Also fueling the Solyndra story this week: New filings in the firm's bankruptcy case showing that, even while the federally backed firm was collapsing last spring and summer, more than a dozen senior exeuctives were collecting hefty bonuses. For example, the firm's vice president of marketing-- whose salary was $275,000-- was awarded two bonuses of $55,000 a piece in April and again in July, the second one coming just two months before Solyndra filed for bankruptcy. The firm's executive vice president of operations, who had a salary of $300,000, was awarded bonuses of $60,000 in April and again in July.

Updated at 12:07 p.m.

Alex Moe/NBC News

With Rick Santorum's visit to Jackson County, he becomes the first candidate to visit all of Iowa's 99 counties.

MAQUOKETA, Iowa -- Last evening, he finally did it. Rick Santorum became the first candidate in the 2012 presidential cycle to visit all 99 of Iowa’s counties.

“Senator Santorum, welcome to your 99th country,” a campaign aide said amongst cheers as the presidential hopeful walked into the room at Decker House.

The former Pennsylvania senator held a meet and greet here in Jackson County, marking a feat no other candidate in the race is even close to accomplishing.

“We crossed the finish line. I feel great. I've had such a wonderful time visiting all the counties here and seeing all the small towns and the town squares and the diners and you know just the wonderful fabric of Iowa,” Santorum, who made visiting every county in the state one of his campaign pledges, said. “It's been a great and energizing experience for me.”

Despite what a milestone this would be for any campaign, there was just one video camera, one still camera, and one local print reporter who attended the event. Santorum spoke and took questions from a crowd of roughly 20 in the first-in-the-nation caucus state while they munched on vegetables and meatballs provided at the event.

Embarking on this “whirlwind tour of Iowa” came from a tip from one longtime Iowa politician who is 12-0 when it comes to running successful campaigns.

“Gov. Terry Branstad said if you really want to win Iowa, you gotta get out and go to all 99 counties and meet people,” Santorum told the crowd. “He's had a pretty good track record of winning here in Iowa so we're trying to follow his advice and I think it will pay off in the end.”

Polling at just 5 percent in the latest Iowa Poll, this Jackson County event concluded another long day on the trail for Santorum who held five events earlier in Southeastern Iowa. Perhaps signifying the importance of the day for his campaign, the senator even wore a sports jacket over one of his typical blue button-down shirts, something he rarely does.

“I think that’s great because he is getting to the people so they know who he is and they recognize him and they have a feeling of being part of it,” Maquoketa resident Mary Hamnam told NBC News after the event. She is leaning towards supporting the former senator.

Santorum isn’t stopping with those 99 counties; he is already back on the stump holding three events in the Hawkeye State today and three on Friday.

Cain campaign tries to turn story into a blame game… But the blame game only works in the short term: What ultimately matters is the story -- not who leaked it… The latest developments… Cain to Ginni Thomas: “That is the DC culture: Guilty until proven innocent”… Obama in Cannes for G20 meeting… The venue -- Cannes, France -- is a curious symbolic choice… And that Arizona redistricting story isn’t going away. 

*** The blame game: As the Washington Post notes, Herman Cain started out blaming his accusers and the news media for the story alleging inappropriate behavior with at least two female employees when he headed the National Restaurant Association. He then turned to Democrats and liberals, arguing that they don’t want to see him win the GOP presidential nomination. And now Cain and his campaign are blaming Team Perry for leaking the story, saying that he told Perry adviser Curt Anderson in 2003 about a charge stemming from his time at the restaurant association. (But if Cain told folks about this in ’03 to discuss opposition research on him in preparation for a Senate bid, why was he so unprepared to respond after the Politico story came out Sunday night?) "The Perry campaign needs to apologize to Herman Cain and his family," top Cain aide Mark Block said on FOX yesterday. Perry and his campaign deny leaking the story. “We found out about the allegations against Mr. Cain the same time everybody else did," Perry told Red State’s Erick Erickson, per NBC’s Carrie Dann.

*** What matters is that there was something to leak: But the blame game only works for a short period of time. What ultimately matters is the story -- not who leaked it. Indeed, here’s what NBC News has known since Monday: Two women accused Cain of inappropriate sexual conduct, and at least one woman received a financial settlement because of it. Over the course of three days, Cain has tried to deflect blame, but hasn't been able prove all the allegations as false. He's complaining that he's being treated as if he's "guilty until proven innocent” (see below). The problem for him is that while he's been deflecting blame, he's also evolved his explanation so much that it's confirmed some of the charges, making his denials on all of them harder to believe. 

AP

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain speaking at the Congressional Health Caucus Thought Leaders Series, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2011 in Washington, DC.

*** The latest developments: Here are the latest developments in the story: First, the AP reported yesterday that a THIRD former National Restaurant Association employee considered filing a workplace complaint against Cain. Second, Chris Wilson, a GOP pollster aligned with a pro-Perry Super PAC who worked for the National Restaurant Association, has alleged seeing Cain engage in inappropriate behavior (and also denies leaking the story). And third, as NBC’s Lisa Myers reported on “TODAY,” the lawyer for one female accuser who wanted to tell her side of the story, doesn’t want to come out publicly. “She has a life to live and a career, and she doesn’t want to become another Anita Hill,” said lawyer Joel Bennett. Instead, as the New York Times notes, Bennett wants to release a statement -- on his client’s behalf -- that makes clear her version of events is different than Cain’s, without violating her non-disclosure agreement.

*** Cain chats in interview with Ginni Thomas: Cain’s latest interview is with -- of all people -- Ginni Thomas (Clarence Thomas’ wife) for the Daily Caller. “That is the DC culture: Guilty until proven innocent,” Cain says, referring to the charges of sexual harassment. And asked to respond to his earlier comment suggesting that China doesn’t have nuclear capabilities yet, Cain answers, “Maybe I misspoke. What I meant was, China does not have the size of nuclear capability that we have. They do have a nuclear capability. I was talking about their total nuclear capability.”

*** The Cannes Economic Festival: Besides Cain, the other big political story is President Obama’s day in Europe at the G20. The president has arrived in Cannes, France for what is already his fifth G20 summit since taking office. Each one has come at a crucial moment in the global economy, and this one is no different. The two-day summit will be dominated by the issue of Greece (even more so given the rumors the Greek PM is stepping down) and the greater economic stability of Europe. Obama is largely on the sidelines here, playing a behind-the-scenes role as cheerleader and therapist as the rich Euro countries (France and Germany) wrestle with how to bail out the less stable economies (Greece) and put a plan in place to make sure Italy, Spain, and a few other fragile euro nations don't drag the entire world economy down with them. Politically, Obama needs Europe to act, since if they don't, it will only serve to add to what is already an uncertain election year where the economy is Issue No. 1.

AP

President Obama with, from left, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and British Prime Minister David Cameron at the G20 Summit in Cannes, France, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011.

*** A curious choice of venue: Symbolically, France picked a curious place for this gathering. Cannes is a resort town known for catering to excess -- and many of the economic problems these leaders are trying to solve have their roots in excess. For instance, the U.S. delegation is staying a stone's throw away from shops like Prada, Jimmy Choo, and other luxurious stores. It really couldn't be more of a contrast with the protests in Athens or Oakland.

*** Pro-choice Mitt (back in 2002): Per the Washington Post, here’s another example why conservatives have some doubts about Mitt Romney’s bona fides on social issues. “Mitt Romney was firm and direct with the abortion rights advocates sitting in his office nine years ago, assuring the group that if elected Massachusetts governor, he would protect the state’s abortion laws. Then, as the meeting drew to a close, the businessman offered an intriguing suggestion — that he would rise to national prominence in the Republican Party as a victor in a liberal state and could use his influence to soften the GOP’s hard-line opposition to abortion. He would be a ‘good voice in the party’ for their cause, and his moderation on the issue would be ‘widely written about,’ he said, according to detailed notes taken by an officer of the group, NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts.”

*** On the 2012 trail: Bachmann and Santorum continue to campaign in Iowa… Perry’s also in the Hawkeye State… Romney, in New Hampshire, discusses fiscal policy… And Huntsman remains in South Carolina.

*** Raising Arizona: The story about Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and state Republicans ousting the independent chair of the state’s redistricting commission isn’t going away. The Arizona Republic’s editorial board slams Brewer today: “Gov. Jan Brewer and Senate Republicans ran roughshod over the public on Tuesday… They trampled a process that voters approved in 2000 to take the job of redrawing the political map away from elected officials.” And: “In a crowning affront to the public, Gov. Brewer is out of town on a book signing tour this week and had Secretary of State Ken Bennett issue the call for a special session. She didn't bother to come back when taking a historic blow against a voter-approved institution.”

*** Thursday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up: (with guest host Chris Cillizza): One of us (!!!) live from the G20 in France… Romney-backing Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and Perry-backing Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI) on why they made their picks and what they think the primaries will really be about… NBC News Campaign Embed Garrett Haake on Romney’s big New York money haul and plans to return to Iowa… NBC’s Mike Isikoff on where Wall Street money is going in 2012… The latest on Cain and more with former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, and the Washington Post’s Nia-Malika Henderson.

*** Thursday’s Jansing & Company line-up: Chris Jansing interviews the New York Times’ Charles Blow and the Washington Post’s E.J. Dionne (on the Cain story), as well as Virginia Sen. Mark Warner (on the Super Committee’s work).

*** Thursday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: The program interviews Dem Rep. Raul Grijalva, former Treasury official Jay Powell, and New York Magazine’s John Heilemann.

*** Thursday’s “News Nation with Tamron Hall” line-up: The program interviews the Washington Post’s Anne Kornblut, Michael Smerconish, and the Dallas Morning News’ Wayne Slater.

Countdown to Election Day 2011: 5 days
Countdown to Iowa caucuses: 61 days
Countdown to South Carolina primary: 79 days
Countdown to Florida primary: 89 days
Countdown to Nevada caucuses: 93 days
Countdown to Super Tuesday: 124 days

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BACHMANN: Michele Bachmann tried to capitalize on the scandal surrounding Herman Cain during a tele-town hall Wednesday thrown by several trade organizations, including the National Restaurant Association – the group that Cain ran during the 1990s, NBC’s Jamie Novogrod reports. A caller, identified as Bill Shaw, a member of the National Association of Homebuilders, asked, “With Cain now having problems with his personal life, with Perry who can’t seem to debate, why should I give you the vote?”

Bachmann responded: “Well, you’re asking the right question… I think it is because what I have proved, and what America is looking for, is a leader with a core of conviction.” ("Core of Conviction" is the title of Bachmann’s forthcoming memoir, out later this month.)

CAIN: “Herman Cain has long cast himself the scoundrel of the Republican presidential field, mocking political correctness and dissing rivals with a well-timed zinger. When his jokes raised eyebrows, he offered a standard response: ‘I didn't mean to offend anyone,’” AP reports. “Now, as he fights allegations of sexual harassment, Cain may be gambling the same line of defense will help defuse the biggest crisis of his candidacy.”

Asked on NBC’s TODAY if Cain can survive these allegations, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said, “I’m not the referee… Primaries are tough.” And he said, "We're not the Sherlock Holmes of the presidential primary field."

The Cain campaign is digging in. NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell reports on an email solicitation to supporters from Cain’s Iowa chairman Steve Grubbs. In it, he says, "The other Republican candidates, the liberal media, and even President Obama have begun to publicly attack Mr. Cain because they are intimidated by his ‘9-9-9 Plan’ and his ability to connect with Americans, said Steve Grubbs, Iowa State Chairman for Herman Cain. "As Mr. Cain continues to pull away in the polls, we expect the attacks to continue."

The New York Daily News’ DeFrank’s lead: “Herman Cain, meet Anthony Weiner.” He adds,”[T]the former pizza magnate has run afoul of one of the cardinal rules of big-time damage control - if you don’t have anything to hide, don’t behave like you do.”

“Outsider Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is spending a tumultuous week in Washington courting the GOP establishment,” Roll Call’s Drucker writes. “And, at least for now, it seems that the establishment likes him — despite allegations of sexual harassment that continue to surface.”

Stu Rothenberg asks this provocative question: “Would Cain be leading the race if he were white?” His conclusion essentially: Cain’s race is “appealing to many conservatives,” but, “Perennial African-American candidate Alan Keyes never made much of a splash during his presidential bids, and if Cain’s race were such an important factor to Republicans, they would have embraced him before they flirted with Bachmann and Perry.”

HUNTSMAN: Speaking to a group of students and faculty members at the College of Charleston here, Jon Huntsman described his New Hampshire-centric early state strategy: “We’re going to surprise this nation in New Hampshire and then repeat it right here in South Carolina,” he said, adding that he has done 100 events in the Granite State and that he’s “connecting with the folks there.” before his current three-day swing, Hunstman had not visited the Palmetto State since mid-September, NBC’s Ali Weinberg reports.

When asked to comment on Herman Cain’s suggestion that China did not have nuclear weapons (it has for more than 50 years), Huntsman said, “I think any viable candidate in the end will be required to have a well-developed and sophisticated world view. We can’t expect otherwise from our candidate.” He added that the country needs a president who “doesn’t need a running start” on foreign policy.

PERRY: On FOX last night when asked by host Sean Hannity if there should be a fence “across the whole border,” Perry used President Obama’s joke about alligators from his speech in El Paso on immigration. Obama was mocking the GOP field. Perry said, “I think the idea of saying, ‘Listen, I'm gonna build a double fence, we're going to put alligators between it, and we're going to put lava in there, as well.’ You know, one tries to outdo the other one.”

GOP 12 points out that Perry back in May ripped Obama’s joke on the Laura Ingraham Show: “You know, this is a president who is more interested in trying out for Saturday Night Live, it seems like. He wants to play to what he considers to be the humorous side,” he said then, adding, “Anyone who knows what's happening on the border of Texas and Mexico -- or for that matter, the southern border of the United States with Mexico -- realizes this is not comedy. There are people's lives in jeopardy every day.”

And he admitted he didn’t prepare for the early debates. “Frankly, I didn't have time to prepare for those debates, he said, per GOP 12. “Obviously, it showed.” Yet, he defended his ability to debate President Obama: "I would love to be on the stage with Barack Obama, talking about how in the world did you lose 2.5 million jobs? How did you waste $4 trillion, Mr. President?"

ROMNEY: Romney’s latest attack on Perry is that “deficits matter.” “If Rick Perry thinks deficits don’t matter, then he’s no different than President Obama. Deficits matter,” said Lanhee Chen, Romney’s policy director, in a press release, NBC’s Garrett Haake reports. National Review’s editors, for example, said, “If his revenue estimates are also too optimistic then the net effect of his proposals will be to make our already precarious budgetary position worse.”

“The top New York financial boosters of the pugnacious New Jersey governor helped raise $375,000 for Mitt Romney’s campaign during a lunch at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel yesterday,” the New York Post reports. “The donors -- including billionaire Ken Langone and former NYSE chief Richard Grasso -- initially backed a Christie bid for the White House but switched to Romney when Christie declined to run.”

“With Herman Cain facing a crisis over sexual-harassment allegations and the rest of the GOP field stuck in reverse, Romney has a golden opportunity to build a commanding lead in the presidential primaries,” the New York Post’s Goodwin writes. “Instead, he has reverted to his old, tired self: hesitant, inconsistent, unclear and pandering to the latest fad. … Romney’s dithering, which includes ducking interviews, is wasting a crucial chance.” He adds, “You can’t beat Somebody with Nobody. These days, Mitt Romney is acting like Nobody.”

“President Obama plunged into the midst of Europe’s rapidly disintegrating debt deal on Thursday, arriving in this iconic seaside town to exhort European leaders to get their financial house in order,” the New York Times says. “During an initial meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Mr. Obama called a resolution of the European financial crisis the most important task facing world leaders gathered at the Group of 20 summit and largely stuck to his administration’s overall message that Europe’s leaders must ‘flesh out details’ about the plan they announced last week to deal with the debt crisis in the euro zone countries.”

Politico’s Ben Smith: “[A]s the president’s re-election team begins in earnest to attack Mitt Romney, Obama faces one of the most difficult tests of his political career: to tear down Romney without getting a single smudge of dirt on his own shirtfront - a trick he has performed deftly in previous races.”