Herman Cain ‘reassessing’ his presidential bid

We’re getting slightly mixed message from Herman Cain’s campaign staff on whether the candidate intends to remain in the Republican presidential hunt. From the Associated Press in Atlanta:

Herman Cain’s Iowa campaign chairman [says] that the candidate is reassessing his presidential campaign a day after an Atlanta businesswoman alleged a 13-year extramarital affair with the Republican.

Steve Grubbs says that on a conference call with senior staff early Tuesday, Cain said the allegations have taken an emotional toll on his family but that he’s moving ahead with the campaign.

Still, Grubbs said Cain told his staff he would be reassessing how to move forward given that the allegations have damaged his fundraising.

The Iowa chairman said Cain still planned to deliver a foreign policy speech in Michigan later Tuesday.

On the other hand, Daniel Malloy, the AJC’s man in Washington, just got off the phone with Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon, who sent this note:

Gordon acknowledged that Cain in a staff call this morning used the word “reassess” about the campaign, but said it was not about whether or not he was going to drop out. Similar reassessments took place after the Iowa straw poll and at one point when the campaign was low on money, he said.

“My interpretation of that is that we are looking to assess where we are at today and where we need to be moving into the primary,” Gordon said.

The campaign will rethink what states Cain visits, the types of speeches he gives and what interviews he conducts.

National Review Online was listening in on the five-minute conference call, and has already produced a transcript.

Earlier this morning, Atlanta radio talk show host Neal Boortz, for whom Cain often subbed on AM750 and 95.5FM News/Talk WSB, said that it might be time for Cain to leave the race.

Boortz was touted on Monday as a VIP who would be attending the Saturday opening of Cain’s new Georgia headquarters in DeKalb County.

- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider

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284 comments Add your comment

ld

November 29th, 2011
2:48 pm

Haven’t you read the news? Barney Frank already sees the writing on the wall and is not running for another term.

Uh, Mr. Thomas Anthony Jones, Sr...

November 29th, 2011
2:54 pm

…do you support Jesse Jackson and PUSH? If so, please rethink everything you have said about “the Affrican-American community” and their non-support of “womanizers…

Did you support Bill Clinton (who, by the way, is not A-A)…if you did not support either of these people of note, please carry on…otherwise, STFU…

ld

November 29th, 2011
2:54 pm

The President and Congress are two different branches of government. Also, all other members of Congress–everyone but the super-committee (and their lobbyists)–were, by design, bystanders in that debacle.

Concerned Citizen

November 29th, 2011
2:55 pm

The problem with politics in America is that the vast majority of Americans know very little about the way our government is supposed to work. They were too bored in school to try learn anything about the system or maybe too much emphasis on math, reading and science. First of all our founding fathers did not intend for politics to become a career. If you read Article 1 Section 4 (amended by section 2 of the 20th amendment) of the US Constitution it states that congress will meet “at least once a year” which does not suggest that this was a full time job.

What does all this mean? It means we need realistic term limits for our congressmen and realistic compensation as it pertains to what they do and how long they serve…no golden parachutes.

PMC

November 29th, 2011
2:58 pm

Are there any politicians without character concerns?

Seems like being a pompous arrogant bag of wind is a huge prerequisite of the job.

ld

November 29th, 2011
2:58 pm

The only people may be more stupid that men in high-ranking gov’t positions who cheat on their wives and think they will not get caught — including but not limited to Clinton and Gingrich — (aside, perhaps, from the woman they’ve cheated with that then marry the cheat thinking they will be faithful–duh?) are those people that are willing to re-elect such cheats that have previously acted to leave themselves open to potential blackmail thinking those skunks will change their stripe– (w/apologies to skunks).

Sick of Republicans

November 29th, 2011
2:58 pm

While I am not a Cain backer and would never vote Republican knowingly after eight years of Bush/Cheney and Sonny Perdue, I still don’t understand why Newt is being given a free ride when allegations against him have been proven and Cain is being destroyed based on allegations. Newt is worse, scum, and downright a slime ball.

Carol

November 29th, 2011
2:58 pm

Concerned Citizen
What does all this mean? It means we need realistic term limits for our congressmen and realistic compensation as it pertains to what they do and how long they serve…no golden parachutes.

+++++++++

That’s certainly a good start. Think about it. We limit the President’s term and that’s the highest office in the land. Yet the people who he has to work with can stay in office and raise h@ll until the drop dead. Makes no sense.

ld

November 29th, 2011
2:59 pm

Concerned Citizen [ @ 2:55 p.m. ]

AMEN!

Rock Gaines

November 29th, 2011
3:03 pm

I’m so sick and tired of the Democrat vs Republican battle in Washington and elsewhere. I realize that it’s unrealistic to think that there would be bi-partisan agreement on everything, but to have the discord we have now is crippling our nation’s recovery. The failure to work together in Washington is killing us. Both parties are responsible for the lack of progress in solving the major issues we have in this country. We spend way too much time posturing, name-calling and taking the hard line instead of coming up with compromise that just might work.

It’s like a divorce where the grown-ups are fighting over everything – and the kids suffer because of it.

cb

November 29th, 2011
3:04 pm

Black Man’s Kryptonite Strikes Again. I don’t believe the lies by these Caucasian women, but get enough to LIE and in this Bias society they do damage because of the underlying racism. The system is corrupt!!

Carol

November 29th, 2011
3:04 pm

Sick of Republicans

I still don’t understand why Newt is being given a free ride when allegations against him have been proven and Cain is being destroyed based on allegations. Newt is worse, scum, and downright a slime ball.

++++++++

But Newt is a “slick slime ball.” Newt is ‘clever’ enough to make people believe he’s the smartest man on the planet. I listen closely to his answers sometimes and I swear it sounds like he just throws words into the sentence to confound people. He is the master of using a couple of out of the ordinary, well-placed words. They seem to go a long way with this guy even when they don’t really make sense. And of course his buzz phrases like “social engineering.” Gotta love the guy LOL.

ld

November 29th, 2011
3:05 pm

The problem is that Congress makes the law and polititions make up Congress and polititions make the rules that decide how we vote for members of Congress.

Perhaps we need a new constitutional convention or at least shame enough of the current batch to get a law passed that will enable/require citizens to vote “propositions” or otherwise vote on laws members of Congress must obey.

Pipe dream, likely: power corrupts and absolute power corrupts. Judges rule from bench to make Judges more powerful; Congress write laws to make Congress more powerful. Presidents that are not comfortable or any good w/bully pulpit (Bush) get bored and yearn to be “war president” with huge amount of power of Commander and Chief.

ld

November 29th, 2011
3:06 pm

Newt is not likely to have a “free ride”; the only thing the media likes more than building up one of these sleezeballs is tearing them down afterward.

Carol

November 29th, 2011
3:06 pm

Rock Gaines
I’m so sick and tired of the Democrat vs Republican battle in Washington and elsewhere. I realize that it’s unrealistic to think that there would be bi-partisan agreement on everything, but to have the discord we have now is crippling our nation’s recovery.
++++++
You said a mouthful!

casper09

November 29th, 2011
3:06 pm

dawg88 you have no right to used the word faith when you mention the names of cain and newt the good books says what;s done in the dard will surely come to the light my mother told me as a child you will wreep what you sew newt left a dying wife playing around with his mistress cain has been cheating on his wife now you wanna talk about faith but one thing is for sure besides all the garbage you are spilling obama is our president elected bu the american people get over it and there is not a damn thing you can do about quite frnakly i could care less if he is re elected but we the people elected him get over it you hater

Smoke

November 29th, 2011
3:08 pm

Cain has the traits of a number of CEOs. Fuzzy on details, take credit when it’s not due, blame others for failure and walk away with a boatload of money. Why isn’t Rick Santorum the GOP frontrunner?

ld

November 29th, 2011
3:12 pm

Support Bill Clinton for what? Hadn’t heard he was running for anything.

ld

November 29th, 2011
3:12 pm

Google “Santorum”. Intolerance of other’s individual libert is ugly; sometimes there is poetic justice.

oldtimer

November 29th, 2011
3:13 pm

Who knows…maybe it is all a lie. It has worked before. I do not think he would run, knowing this would haunt his family. He is a pretty smart guy.

td

November 29th, 2011
3:13 pm

Concerned Citizen

November 29th, 2011
2:55 pm

Newt attempted to get a Constitutional Amendment as part of his Contract with America. It passed the house 227- 204. No Dems voted for it and it did not get the 3/5 majority needed to be sent to the Senate.

Realists

November 29th, 2011
3:13 pm

the new racism is saying ” its not about race” if Pres. Obama was white or republican nothing would be said about ObamaCare, and the Jobs bill would be passes without hesitation!! FACT!

Like all Democrats...

November 29th, 2011
3:14 pm

…are saintly, right? RIIIGGGHHHTTT…..pot, meet kettle, also known as Bill Clinton, JFK, Jesse Jackson, Marion Berry, Bill Campbell, – shall I go on….

Mark

November 29th, 2011
3:15 pm

@ td

November 29th, 2011
2:33 pm

“President Obama’s slow ride down Gallup’s daily presidential job approval index has finally passed below Jimmy Carter, earning Obama the worst job approval rating of any president at this stage of his term in modern political history.

Since March, Obama’s job approval rating has hovered above Carter’s, considered among the 20th century’s worst presidents, but today Obama’s punctured Carter’s dismal job approval line. On their comparison chart, Gallup put Obama’s job approval rating at 43 percent compared to Carter’s 51 percent.”

According to Gallup, here are the job approval numbers for other presidents at this stage of their terms, a year before the re-election campaign:

– Harry S. Truman: 54 percent.

– Dwight Eisenhower: 78 percent.

– Lyndon B. Johnson: 44 percent.

– Richard M. Nixon: 50 percent.

– Ronald Reagan: 54 percent.

– George H.W. Bush: 52 percent.

– Bill Clinton: 51 percent.

– George W. Bush: 55 percent

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2011/11/29/obamas-job-approval-drops-below-carters

This makes me want to vote for Obama again! Thanks a lot pal!

Smoke

November 29th, 2011
3:15 pm

Forget the accusations, Mrs. Cain should ask Herman if he has a record of calling or texting her 61 times in the past four months? I haven’t called anyone 61 times about anything in the past year, including my girlfriend or my wife.

td

November 29th, 2011
3:16 pm

Carol

November 29th, 2011
3:04 pm

Have you ever listened to any of Obama’s speeches with that critical of an eye? Does he not do the same thing?

ld

November 29th, 2011
3:16 pm

Though I may find the purported/described activities of gay men barfable, I do strongly believe that my individual liberty — and yours — is fragile; and I believe that denying individual liberty to any other person (that has not, by criminal conduct, thrown away their right to liberty) damages our own.

Buzz phrases, Carol?...

November 29th, 2011
3:17 pm

…kind of like “hope and change”, or get this country back on track”, or “increase revenue”, or “pay their fair share” – yep, when Dems say it, it is OK, when anyone else says it, it is a “buzz phrase”…

Realists

November 29th, 2011
3:18 pm

forget about the fact that this country supposed to be founded on “innocent until proven guilty” smh u make an allegation and the whole world believes you without even having any facts what so ever….FYI women do lie…..

Adam

November 29th, 2011
3:21 pm

@ Carol

November 29th, 2011
12:17 pm

“…You mean win???? LOL”

Really? You consider our current state of affairs as winning? You would seriously consider the re-election of Mr. Obama winning? For who…A political party or the country? It definitely would not be a win for the economy nor the country as a whole. This isn’t team sports where you can blindly be a fan without much consequence. As this president as proven, the one in the oval office has a huge impact on the direction of the country as a whole, and any honest observer would have to say that arrow is trending downward at an alarming pace.

ld

November 29th, 2011
3:22 pm

We need a VIABLE third option; however, the rules put in place in each state and on a national level by the DEMS and GOP to limit their competition only to each other make that unlikely–it is also the reason that the two major parties of our political are so polarized and impotent at competent governence.

td

November 29th, 2011
3:22 pm

Realists

November 29th, 2011
3:13 pm
the new racism is saying ” its not about race” if Pres. Obama was white or republican nothing would be said about ObamaCare, and the Jobs bill would be passes without hesitation!! FACT!

FACT- You are full of crap. You just can not stand the fact that you can not play that race card this time around for Obama. If Mr. Cain did nothing else with his campaign he has made it impossible for the claim of racism to be used this next year. This is about philosophy not race and you my friend need to accept those FACTS.

Tea party Nut miceters

November 29th, 2011
3:23 pm

MR. President 51.5% GOP clowns 48.5% What a real bunch of GOP clowns come on man!!!

ld

November 29th, 2011
3:24 pm

Though I don’t care for Obama, aside from using the “bully pulpit” or vile back-room dealmaking, there is little any President can do to get laws passed. Or do any of you know something I don’t?

clem

November 29th, 2011
3:25 pm

td

November 29th, 2011
3:26 pm

ld

November 29th, 2011
3:22 pm

What is a reliable third party candidate going to give us? Where would this person be philosophically? More conservative? More liberal? In the middle? How would this person (with no political allies) work with congress?

Arlene Brumfield

November 29th, 2011
3:27 pm

We live in a time where any person with an agenda to ruin another person, can call up one of the 24/7 news channels and say they slept with a candidate, and it becomes a news flash and every other news source grabs it and soon people believe what talking heads tell them!! Why did the media choose to ignore stories like these about Obama?! If the media had vetted Obama, like they have Cain, Hillary Clinton would be President today!!
Thinking out loud in N.C.

Yes, Id...

November 29th, 2011
3:27 pm

…the President can LEAD, and just what is wrong with using the “bully pulpit” or vile back-room dealmaking” – that is pretty much what LEADING is all about at this level of government…

ld

November 29th, 2011
3:28 pm

The next election will not be about “race”; it will be about “class”: the so-called “1%” investor class vs. the so-called “99%” mega-rich investor class–the investor class has been engaging in modern class warfare for over three decades–and winning.

Smoke

November 29th, 2011
3:29 pm

Dixiecrats reminding Democrats about adultry count in their ranks is really funny since they are comparing them in the same light as Cain and Newt. I guess they don’t realize what they are saying. Too bad they didn’t put Cain on speakerphone and let Ms. White speak first!

Mark

November 29th, 2011
3:31 pm

@ td

November 29th, 2011
3:22 pm

Realists

November 29th, 2011
3:13 pm
the new racism is saying ” its not about race” if Pres. Obama was white or republican nothing would be said about ObamaCare, and the Jobs bill would be passes without hesitation!! FACT!

FACT- You are full of crap. You just can not stand the fact that you can not play that race card this time around for Obama. If Mr. Cain did nothing else with his campaign he has made it impossible for the claim of racism to be used this next year. This is about philosophy not race and you my friend need to accept those FACTS.

No you are full of crap! We’ll just see how much the race card is used once Cain is bounced out of the primary on his ass! You typical conservative racist will be back at it again calling Obama and Michelle monkeys just like in 08

ld

November 29th, 2011
3:31 pm

Deal-making, YES–that’s called compromise; the vile back-room kind, NO–that’s what we have now–including deals used by members of Congress for insider trading. The use of the “bully pulpit” is to LEAD–but it ain’t any easier to LEAD Congress than it is to herd cats because Congress is following the lobbyi$ts.

ld

November 29th, 2011
3:32 pm

oops the mega rich investor class vs. the 99% working class. mea culpa.

Realists

November 29th, 2011
3:32 pm

@td FACT how can a pres operate and do wht he thinks is necessary if the majority of congress is against him….everyone wants a quick fix!! if u gain 30lbs in 2months please believe its gonna take atleast 6 to get it off!!!! no pres!!! i repeat no pres can bring this country out of the hole its in in one term……but of course obama let the american ppl know that they care more about politics than getting this country back but regardless of what u say i believe bill maher when he said ” denying racism is the new racism”

td

November 29th, 2011
3:33 pm

ld

November 29th, 2011
3:28 pm

You have to be kidding right? The real class warfare is the 53% of tax payers vs. the 47% leeches. The 47% wants the government to take care of them and give them more, more without them having to take any type of personal responsibility or having t work for what they are given. “Just tax the rich more so I can have more Food Stamps, free phones, free Internet, free medical care…”.

Smoke

November 29th, 2011
3:33 pm

Have you noticed that Liberals have not mentioned “race” when it comes to Cain’s problems? Cain and the Dixiecrats have, but Liberals have sat back and just watched and commented on the silliness.

rita

November 29th, 2011
3:34 pm

i second what cable guy has to say. stay out of my business and there personal business.

TruthBe

November 29th, 2011
3:37 pm

Once again the Democrat smear machine at it’s finest work. The Democrats can’t afford a Black Republican Politican with National Support of the People. Because it takes the “Racist Black Vote” away from them and the right to call everybody else racist. And you Black Democrats are playing right into their arms. Get back on the DNC Plantation and stay there boy. And as for if Cain did or didn’t have these affairs you democrats really don’t give a damn because you ALL were there to help and support Clinton when he had all of his affairs. In fact the media cover for him as well as the Womens Lib groups. After all “he’s just a man” Remember????.

Realists

November 29th, 2011
3:40 pm

@TruthBe you’re probably one of those sick white men that molest little boys!!

ld

November 29th, 2011
3:41 pm

OWS identifies the 1% & 99%; however, I believe that these numbers are “broad-stroke” talking points. The mega-rich are less than half of one percent; the rich are more like the next several percent. The median income are the “silent majority” “middle class”. The poor, and poorly educated, at least seem to only vote in presidental elections. If “values” (religious) voters voted their pocketbooks, the vote would likely be more lopsided–but still not 99-1.

There are still individual liberty issues those of us that stay “independent” consider–right to bear arms. Then there are practical and fear issues–how much is pratical and how much is fear is debatable: security, military, immigration, etc.

I’m looking for a candidate that believes in individual liberty, equal right under law, fair and just capitalism, separation of church and state, and a reasonable degree of practical compassion AND the courage to take an unpopular stand and LEAD. Don’t see one.