Herman Cain and his wife’s permission
Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, with his wife Gloria in the background, salutes the crowd before announcing the suspension of his campaign. AP/David Tulis
In the end, Herman Cain’s wife, the diminutive woman he said held the key to his future as a presidential candidate, was a case of misdirection.
For days, Herman Cain had told the friendly faces on cable TV that he would head home to Atlanta for a face-to-face discussion with Gloria, his spouse of 43 years – the woman he first romanced with a movie date at Lenox Square, but who had declined to become part of his political quest.
Without her support, Cain said, his Republican campaign would collapse in the face of a new allegation that he had engaged in a long-time affair with another woman – a charge that he had denounced not just as untrue, but unproven.
So on Saturday, a very specific question hung over the new state headquarters for the Cain campaign, a storefront operation close enough to I-85 in DeKalb County to catch the breeze created by the traffic. Would Gloria Cain be there? Several hundred Cain fans were given two hours to mull the situation over.
Kay Godwin and Pat Tippett drove more than five hours from south Georgia to be there. If you are a politician in Georgia interested in winning a statewide race, you know that the two women are the fulcrum for thousands of Republican votes below the gnat line.
Godwin has known Cain for 20 years. She thinks the sexual accusations against him are hogwash, a creation of a fearful Republican establishment and the liberal media. But on Saturday, during the waiting, she also declared that she thought that Cain had been ill-served by his national staff.
“Pat and I have the 1st Congressional District. We have 26 of our 29 counties already organized. We have a conference call with them every Tuesday night,” Godwin said.
Cain supporters in south Georgia had come to two conclusions. “No. 1, if he doesn’t get rid of [campaign manager] Mark Block and those people surrounding him, he’s going nowhere,” the GOP activist said.
That included Atlanta lawyer Lin Wood, who, in Cain’s defense, had issued a letter declaring that what two consenting adults do behind bedroom doors is nobody’s business.
Demand No. 2, Godwin said, was for Cain’s wife to be by his side that afternoon. “We can stand behind him and know he’s telling the truth if his wife stands behind him,” she said. “If she’s not going to be there – I’m driving five and a half hours from south Georgia up here for somebody whose wife isn’t going to cross town to stand by him?”
At 1:30 p.m., the bus with Herman Cain’s face on it pulled close to the headquarters. The candidate was the first out. He held out his right hand, and helped his wife down the stairs.
“Gloria! Gloria!” the crowd shouted, their hopes lifted by her presence, as she and her husband came to the stage. Block, the campaign manager with the famous cigarette habit, stood silently in the background, holding Cain’s trademark black cowboy hat.
The candidate spoke of the remarkable distance he’d traveled from his birthplace, on Pelham Street in Atlanta’s old Fifth Ward, the son of a maid and a Coca-Cola chauffeur.
He was one of a trio of men in line, on the Republican side, to become the most powerful figure in the world. Add President Barack Obama for good measure, he said. “I’m in the Final Four. We’re in the Final Four.”
But Cain admitted that the last few days had caused irreparable damage. “That spin hurts. It hurts my wife. It hurts my family. It hurts me. And it hurts the American people, because you’re being denied solutions to our problems,” he said.
But he wanted the crowd to know this: “I am at peace with God.” And then Cain pointed to the woman behind him. “I am at peace with my wife. And she is at peace with me,” he said.
The hopeful chants began again. “Gloria! Gloria! Gloria!”
“That being said,” Cain continued – and finally pulled the rug out from under the grand opening of his campaign headquarters. He would suspend his campaign, he told a stunned and befuddled crowd.
As it turned out, Gloria Cain’s permission wasn’t the key to continuing his candidacy. Her husband admitted that, in the wake of five weeks of scandal, his contributions had dried up.
But his wife’s presence was absolutely essential to Cain’s ability to retire from the field with his reputation intact – so that he might maintain his influence as a Republican player.
For Cain, Plan B is something called thecainsolution.com, a place on the Internet where he can still push his “9-9-9” plan. The Stockbridge entrepreneur will follow the lead of Sarah Palin, and attempt to become a political persona who operates outside the political process – as his campaign tried to do, but failed.
“One of the reasons that I ran for president of the United States was that so I could change Washington D.C. from the inside,” he said. “Plan B is that we’re going to have to change it from the outside.”
And with that, the Saturday crowd began to drift away, perhaps to their TV sets. The Bulldogs were still an undefeated possibility.
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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308 comments Add your comment
Straight Talk
December 3rd, 2011
7:50 pm
Frederick Douglass – Like most liberals you ignore or are unaware of the facts. Herman Cain has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a master’s degree in computer science from Purdue University, one of the top engineering schools in the country. Let’s hear about your educational credentials….
Look before I leap...
December 3rd, 2011
7:57 pm
@Straight Talk 7:50
Just a point of clarification, Herman’s Mathematics degree is from Morehouse College, not Purdue.
clem
December 3rd, 2011
8:00 pm
And I think Herman said he was rejected by
Tech and UGA, which back in the day it was not that hard to get into GA, but was somewhat hard to get into Tech, but not a wise move considering the draft back then.
findog
December 3rd, 2011
8:02 pm
Last Man,
You are right; another man brought down by ignorance and fear
Straight Talk
December 3rd, 2011
8:04 pm
clem – Another one of your ‘intelleigent’ posts…Blacks couldn’t get into GA or Tech back then…
Straight Talk
December 3rd, 2011
8:06 pm
Look before I leap – Your are correct about the undergraduate degree from Morehouse. I was not implying that is was from Purdue. His master’s degree from Purdue stands on its own merits.
ND
December 3rd, 2011
8:07 pm
Even if all the allegations are true, that doesn’t make Cain a bad candidate. People need to start understanding that a man’s sexual impropriety has nothing to do with his ability to lead and get the job done.
What DOES make him a bad candidate is his complete cluelessness with respect to every major political issue.
Michael
December 3rd, 2011
8:07 pm
Funny how when an African American took the lead the harassment claim first comes from, as Herm said, from the Perry camp. Then the Redumb machine kicked into high gear to rid itself of a potential AA Redumb Prez. An Obama/Cain debate would have been hilarious, though.
Straight Talk
December 3rd, 2011
8:08 pm
ND – You must be talking about Obama.
Look before I leap...
December 3rd, 2011
8:09 pm
@Straight Talk 8:04
And another one of your shoot from the hip posts.
GA Tech graduated its first black student in 1965.
Straight Talk
December 3rd, 2011
8:09 pm
Michael – An Obama / Cain debate would be hilarious since teleprompters are not allowed. LOL
pierre gustave toutant beauregard
December 3rd, 2011
8:10 pm
“The Herman Cains,Sarah Palins, and Rick Perrys of this country shouldn’t be going around bragging about how dumb they are…”
W. established the precedent…
Beth
December 3rd, 2011
8:12 pm
That Cain thought he could dupe the masses….hah! He’s a serial womanizer.
More, he’s a Narcissist who will never take any responsiblity for what he does: “it’s all lies”, ‘a conspiracy’, etc.
Well, he can’t keep his hands off women obviously. Some preacher.
One woman, ok, this could be a disgruntled person, but all these women????
Seems that his radio buds filled his head about his possibilities here: wonder if they knew about the women???
Bet it’s rather chilly in the Cain home tonight…or else Gloria turned a blind eye on the behavior of her husband for all these years.
Clinton’s actions were enough of a disgrace. Cain would be nothing more.
Look before I leap...
December 3rd, 2011
8:13 pm
@Straight Talk 8;08
Not a question of implying, you out and out stated it:
“Herman Cain has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a master’s degree in computer science from Purdue University”
Or perhaps it is just poor sentence structure. If so then is it safe to assume you did NOT graduate from Purdue (under or post)?
clem
December 3rd, 2011
8:20 pm
straight talk, you are a dumb f$ck!
clem – Another one of your ‘intelleigent’ posts…Blacks couldn’t get into GA or Tech back then…
http://desegregation.uga.edu/history/
if you understood what i said is the cain himself said he was rejected.
putz
Sister Sarah
December 3rd, 2011
8:20 pm
For the record, teleprompters are NEVER allowed at a political debate! Obama seemed to do PRET-TY well if I recall not only in democratic primaries but general election debates as well. What say you about that “Straight Talk”?? Or are you committed to riding the hyperbole train (excuse me..CAIN train) to the end of the line??
Herman….if you not the Republican presidential nominee, don’t blame the media…”BLAME YO’SSELF!!” Bbwwaaahahhahahhhhh!
Michael
December 3rd, 2011
8:21 pm
I have a Bachelors and a JD from UGA. GO DAWGS!
Look before I leap...
December 3rd, 2011
8:23 pm
@Straight Talk 8:09
Do you HONESTLY believe that Cain could beat Obama in a heads-up debate on any issue of national interest or importance?
I mean really now… it’s one thing to disagree with the Obama’s policies or dislike the man personally. It is quite another to delude yourself to the point where you think a man like Herman Cain whose sole claim to political fame was cornering Bill Clinton in a town-hall meeting in Kansas City, is in any way capable of finding success in defeating a sitting president (ANY sitting president).
Serious Robuck
December 3rd, 2011
8:27 pm
LMS, what happened to your boy Perry? Let’s see, first you chose TPaw, then Perry, now who, old buddy? Sad. Sad. Sad.
John
December 3rd, 2011
8:56 pm
Now he can focus full time on the book tour……
The Cain Train Has Left the Station
December 3rd, 2011
8:56 pm
@twintbb December 3rd, 2011 6:28 pm – Now that Cain is out – GO NEWT !!! Newt will be the best to debate Obama and win. Newt is not perfect but a lot closer than Obama. Lets hope the remainder of the Republican race will be without all this nonsense. Go Newt !! Focus on beating Obama. . .
********************************************************************
Be careful what you wish for! NEWT IS NEXT TO GO!
After what that arrogant, slimmy, racist said about poor children, HE WILL NEVER BE PRESIDENT!
I pray EVERY NIGHT that Newt Gingrich is exposed for who he is. He is the lowest of the low. Anyone who says that poor children should clean bathrooms at 8 or 9 years old has a special PLACE IN H@LL!
Just like God exposed Herman Cain he is going to expose Newt.
When they get through turning over every rock and looking through all of Newt’s closets, ITS OVER FOR NEWT.
I will be back to tell you……I TOLD YOU SO!
Frederick Douglass
December 3rd, 2011
9:01 pm
Straight Talk @ 7:50
My educational credentials: Horrible segregated schools for 12 years, four years in the military, 2 years at a technical school, wowed them at UGA for three years and some change. The difference between myself and Herman Cain is that I value an education, the little education I have, was hard to come by. I can’t afford to not know that Spanish is spoken in Cuba, or that China has nuclear weapons, or to yuck it up about being a leader instead of a reader, especially when it’s questionable wheter he’s either. yes your man Cain is a hot mess, he has his money, and his women, but he has been royally exposed for the doofus that he is.
rahvi
December 3rd, 2011
9:07 pm
Now official- Uncle “Tom Cat” Cain and his ludicrous publicity stunt is over. He was nothing more than a stooge for the Tea Bag Bigots wanting to claim that they supported an “alleged” Black, as a means of disguising their blind hatred for President Obama. These inbred, White Trash racists motives were completely transparent from the beginning.
Breath taking arrogance, hilarious ignorance, and a history of adultery proved to be a toxic mix for this publicity hound. The fact that this adulterous Buffoon had been afforded Secret Service protection, at taxpayer expense, is an outrage. Good riddance Uncle “Tom Cat”- time to go back to telling the ladies about your 9-9-9!
Hypocrisy Runs In The Cain Family
December 3rd, 2011
9:08 pm
Gloria Cain is a bigger hypocrite than her husband Herman.
She knows that this man is not what he claims to be, but she will stand in front of hundreds of people with that sh*ty look on her face knowing that Herman Cain is GUILTY OF ADULTERY!
Shame on you Gloria Cain. What kind of an example are you setting for your daugther?
Dane Lusley
December 3rd, 2011
9:09 pm
I is hard to imagine Cain as a senior executive of anything ever. He was never a “business man” he was a corporate drone at Pillsbury and a influence pedaler. He never had a chance, regardless of the sexual harassment claims, which I do not beleive were a hoax. If so, Cain should have been filing slander claims against all of them. Hermy your 15 minutes are up, you were entertaining while you lasted. Tell me, you going to pay for your own “security” now and reimburse the 50000.00USD a day the taxpayer has been forking out for your “security”. Hypocrite.
Hypocrisy Runs In The Cain Family
December 3rd, 2011
9:13 pm
THANK YOU. BRAVO!!!
Tell the truth and shame the devil.
Last Man Standing
December 3rd, 2011
9:13 pm
Look before I leap…:
“We are in the middle of a very modest economic recovery and if this recovery continues to gather steam and strength and unemployment continues to fall, then both Gingrich and Romney are going to have an uphill battle.”
Quit watching the mainstream media and reading newspapers like the AJC. It would be a good idea to be a little distrusting of the numbers offered up by the federal government. I don’t know which country is experiencing the ‘modest recovery’ , but I’ve got a clue for you: it ain’t America. The Federal Reserve Bank has loaned in excess of $7 trillion to banks around the world while our national debt continues to rise.
All is well, go back to sleep . . .
clem
December 3rd, 2011
9:13 pm
straight talker, straight talker, clean up aisle 5!
rahvi
December 3rd, 2011
9:13 pm
Straight Talk- you are an absolute, fuc_ing White Trash Moron.
Local Gal
December 3rd, 2011
9:18 pm
No evidence?
1. WAGA TV saw a phone bill with 61 calls/texts between Ginger White and Herman.
2. they called the so-called private number and HERMAN ANSWERED
3. He admitted that he GAVE HER MONEY
4. He admitted that he “knew” (in the biblical sense, apparently) for 13 years but never mentioned her to his wife. My husband meets a lady friend ONCE and he tells me.
5. He is mentally off – stating he is one of the four most important black men in the country? Ego-nut much? Believable?
6. He has lied repeated on TV – says one thing, then another, on all topics
7. First he didn’t remember any harassment charge. Then he kinda remembered. Then he remembered that money changed hands, etc. etc. That is lying.
8. What kind of candidate does NOT have his wife campaigning for him? The Bill Clinton kind, I’d suggest?
9. Ginger White CLEARLY had bank account evidence, plane ticket stubs and such on Herman or he would NOT have admitted to giving her money. The evidence will eventually come out.
10. Why does a person lie? Because THEY HAVE DONE SOMETHING WRONG.
Those that say he was railroaded – how do you justify the above facts?
My guess: you are poor critical thinkers and as the OP mentioned above, you shouldn’t be allowed to vote. Newt is as big as a scum and a rude Yankee to boot. Time to take him down also.
Hypocrisy Runs In The Cain Family
December 3rd, 2011
9:18 pm
Oooops! @rahvi December 3rd, 2011 9:07 pm – Uncle “Tom Cat” Cain and his ludicrous publicity stunt is over. He was nothing more than a stooge for the Tea Bag Bigots wanting to claim that they supported an “alleged” Black, as a means of disguising their blind hatred for President Obama. These inbred, White Trash racists motives were completely transparent from the beginning.
*****************************************
Tell the truth and shame the devil.
THANK YOU.
BRAVO!!!
Frederick Douglass
December 3rd, 2011
9:26 pm
LMS
“It would be a good idea to be a little distrusting of the numbers offered up by the federal government”.
Who in hell offered up the numbers when Dubya was in office? Am I missing something, did we get the unemployment figures for our country from Mexico prior to Obama’s election?
frankie
December 3rd, 2011
9:29 pm
cain cheated on his wife; why would he quit because of an accusation; as a wanna be president, he would have to deal with much more than that; he quit because he couldnt lie his way out; a 13 year “friendship” your wife doesnt know about ? giving another woman money for 13 years and your wife doesnt know about it ? after 13 years of “helping” her in hotels across the country, he never thought she would bring this stuff out. he should have promised to make her vice president to keep her quiet; his wife would the “second lady”.
sparta_bubba
December 3rd, 2011
9:35 pm
Help me to get this straight? Republicans can’t support Sperman Cain because of allegations of sexual misconduct. Right? The standard bearer and anointed one is now Newtie Gingrich? Didn’t I read something somewhere about him and how he cheated on all of his wives and carried on multiple affairs with wives of his friends? Didn’t I recently read something about him getting caught receiving oral sex in his driveway from a friend’s wife?
So I understand the party of Family Values is stepping away from ole “Stepin Fetchit” Cain, but is running in droves to “Ole Faithful” Newt Ginghrich?
Surely I read something wrong?
Look before I leap...
December 3rd, 2011
9:36 pm
@Last Man Standing
Wow. So if you don’t get your numbers from the goverment or main steam media, just exactly where are you getting YOUR facts?
I’m serious, please submit some economic indicators and their sources that contra-indicate my statement.
If you can’t do so, then you may want to consider just admitting that you don’t like the message and what it portends for the GOP and resume your ostrich like posture.
clem
December 3rd, 2011
9:44 pm
look before i leap, given lms and s.t. logic no wonder the republican primary resembles a circus….they have a proven conservative in huntsman but he can’t move the needle, my guess because of his religion….now trump goint to moderate a debate, you can’t make this stuff up
This is too funny
December 3rd, 2011
9:50 pm
I just like seeing an arrogant liar get a reality check.
This is too funny
December 3rd, 2011
9:53 pm
Lets be honest, nothing to do with politics, but is anyone really tryin to say he didnt cheat on his wife?
Cammie
December 3rd, 2011
9:57 pm
If you are poor, it’s your fault.
If you are unemployed, it’s your fault.
If you cheat on your wife, with a woman 20 years younger than you who is poor and unemployed its the liberaaaaaaaal media and those evil women’s fault.
Yeah, I’ll buy that for $9.99.
Hey Cain why didn’t you tell Ginger to blame herself, get a job, instead of paying you paying her bills for 13 years like you told the Occupation Wall Stree Protestors???
BRW
December 3rd, 2011
9:59 pm
LMS is a FAUX NEWS roving reporter. Excuse me, raving mad reporter.
clem
December 3rd, 2011
10:06 pm
newt said you don’t have to know anything to be a fox analyst
Cammie
December 3rd, 2011
10:17 pm
Since Mr. Cain withdrew from the campaign, then he must surely resign as Co-Pastor at Antioch Bapist Church because one thing’s for certain, hypocrites can lie in the pew but should never lead from the pulpit.
Look before I leap...
December 3rd, 2011
10:30 pm
@clem
I don’t know why Huntsman can’t get traction.Can’t be his religion as Romney is also Mormon. Maybe two Mormon’s is 1 one too many?
Mostly, I think Huntsman’s issues are money related. He has some pretty serious restrictions on his sources of money. His dad is filthy rich and funding a PAC that is currently running some ads in NH, but I think junior is trying to avoid a Kennedy-esque image of daddy buying the election.
Perhaps his tenure as Ambassador to China under Obama hurt his conservative creds.
He had some serious success in Utah as govermor with regards to job creation and tax reduction.
He has Mormon values with respect to the linchpin of the GOP “social values” plank (abortion) but while he is against gay-marriage, he supporst gay civil unions (a GOP no-no). He also believes that health-care reform is necessary and does not repudiate Obamacare on a wholesale basis (another GOP no-no).
I’d like to hear more from the guy with respect to federal fiscal policy, but we have wasted too much time on the likes of Herman Cain and 9-9-9 and No No No and Newt’s astounding declaration that he is not Jesus Christ.
Bootnewt
December 3rd, 2011
10:32 pm
Cain sure reminds me a whole lot of Elmer Gantry.
Look before I leap...
December 3rd, 2011
10:35 pm
@clem
Politically, the one thing that emotionally taints Huntsman for me is that he is the one who stood up at the GOP convention and nominated Sarah Palin as the VP candidate. That is so visceral for me, that were I in a position to ask him just one question, I’d ask him if he regretted that.
OBAMA 2012!
December 3rd, 2011
11:36 pm
OBAMA has been honest, fair and transparent! He’s for all mankind!
ANGRY AS HELL
December 3rd, 2011
11:41 pm
If I hear one more time how liberals and Democrats were responsible for Cain’s fatye, I’m going to scream. Look, no self-respecting Democrat or liberal would do anything to sink Cain. He’d be THE preferred Republcan candidate for Obama to run against. Obama would destroy Cain in any presidential debate on any issue. Cain was ill-prepared to be the next president of this country. If you want to look at who was the source of the leaks on these true stories regarding Cain’s propensity to commit sexual harassment or engage in long-term extramarital affaors, look no further than your heroes in the Republican party. They had a real interest in knocking Cain out of the GOP race of candidates. Boo hoo !!!
Paddy O
December 3rd, 2011
11:50 pm
old days this was called a whisper campaign. American women have not changed much. Pay them enough, and they’ll say just about anything.
Paddy O
December 3rd, 2011
11:51 pm
angry as hell – you must be living there as well if that is your honest assessment. Keep the head in the sand, buddy boy.
strategy?
December 4th, 2011
12:01 am
just maybe Cain won and the accusors lost?
just what tabloid is now going to pay for negative stories of a non-candidate?
imagine after proving them guilty Cain re-joins the campaign? he’ll not only get the sympathy vote but he will get the backing of majority conservatives.
this could all be strategy. he IS a mathmetician; remember?