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
BILLY MAYS HERE
December 4th, 2011
12:13 am
Reality: It’s What’s For Dinner
John D
December 4th, 2011
12:17 am
The Republican Presidential Candidates and the support they receive is exactly what’s wrong with our country, but they want to blame Barack Obama. Newt and Cain obviously showcase how unmoral and unethical they are but preach “morals” and “values”. Michelle Bachman and Rick Perry don’t even know a damn thing about government and what America has been involved in for so long. Michelle’s “If I am president there won’t be an U.S. Embassy in Iran when there hasn’t been one in more than 30 years.” and those are the folks that want to run our country??? Mitt Romney is so far disconnected from the average American that it isn’t even funny.
In addition one major problem with us Americans is that we are very ignorant, gullible and have no substance. We voted Obama in office for “Change” but “Change” is not easy and it is not suppose to be “comfortable” plus we expect Obama to fix things immediately. We are just now seeing the results for his work with employment rate going up regardless what Fox News reports. The economy to flop took 8 years under the Bush Administration and it flopped in 2007 but the effect materialized when Obama took office.
You can deny it but looking at the candidates that which is filled with Adulterers, Cheaters, and Liars pretty much lays it all out.
strategy?
December 4th, 2011
12:24 am
what i got from the announcement was that Cain felt these stories were hurting his wife whom he obviously puts first. i never heard him admit to any affair. if he did someone needs their reality examined.
Tonya
December 4th, 2011
12:29 am
Herman could have gotten his cell phone company to go back and get him details on his text content to show there was nothing in them like he said. Would have been easy to show the world if there was nothing to hide. I feel let down, I thought Heman represented my wants for our country. Stinks! I have a hard time going for there was no affair. If a man can’t be trusted to be faithful to someone he loves how can he be faithful to my vote. Why can’t men keep it in their pants? I just can’t get over someone running for office with skeletons in the closet, they will come out.
strategy?
December 4th, 2011
12:29 am
if Cain is guilty of these things he is definitely not presidential; conservatives do not roll that way but if these are trumped up accusations i do hope these women are exposed to the fullest. meanwhile no one has proven anything yet. still she says, he says.
strategy?
December 4th, 2011
12:34 am
Tonya i agree with you 100% re running knowing of one’s past. it is so unfair to people who put trust and time into getting a person elected; however, we cannot call this man guilty at this point imo. i will not let him off the hook if he is guilty but for me this is still a little suspect.
liberalefty
December 4th, 2011
12:48 am
hey HERMAN hows Life on the repuican plantation../..buh bye
ANGRY AS HELL
December 4th, 2011
1:31 am
Paddy O — You’re the one with his head in the sand. You are under the impression that Democrats and liberals would have wanted Cain out of the race. Hell, no. Politically, he’d be the best candidate for Obama to run against. Newt would be the next best one. Now, even Cain complained that Rick Perry’s camp was the source of the initial leaks on the sexual harassment claims leveled years ago against Cain, and on Friday morning, even Neal Boortz corrected a caller who was quick to blame Democtats and the “liberal media” for Cain’s woes. Boortz said, “It could have come just as much from Republicans as from anyone else.” If you don’t believe me, why not contact Boortz and ask? Get YOUR head out of the sand, fool.
liberalefty
December 4th, 2011
1:38 am
HEY HERMAN PIMP CAIN,HOws life on the republican plantation?
ANGRY AS HELL
December 4th, 2011
1:39 am
What Cain is looking for now is a chance to make a fortune like Sarah Palin beinmg a FOX News “analyst” and going on the speech circuit getting suckers to pay good money to hear his bull$#1+. Look what Sarah’s done. Only in America could a complete ignoramous who can’t utter a coherent sentence make a fortune selling her so-called conservative philosophy to a bunch of suckers. Bill Buckley must be turning over in his grave. Cain will do the same as Sarah. The GOP is really strapped for candidates.
Jackson Baer
December 4th, 2011
1:56 am
RON PAUL 2012!
Clear. Consistent. Honest.
http://www.whatthehellbook.com/the-book/
Judge Roy Bean
December 4th, 2011
2:02 am
“Sic Semper Philanderer!”
I expected Herman to spin this whole thing with Ginger White into a positive: “Yes, I was her “Sugar Daddie” for years. Haven’t y’all ever heard of “Sugar Cain”???
Z
December 4th, 2011
2:52 am
Herman Cain, just another snake oil salesman laughing all the way to the bank. You really can fool a lot of people all the time, that’s why we will always have these gifted motor mouths, there will always be those fools who will drink the snake oil…always!
BitterEXdemocrackkk
December 4th, 2011
5:19 am
the criminal democrackkks have again succeeded in bringing down a black man who is a threat to their agenda. democrackkks are EVIL. all of them…YOU TOO if you ARE one.
WHO'S LEFT ?
December 4th, 2011
6:00 am
how do we get rid of the other spear chucker?
Attack Dog
December 4th, 2011
6:04 am
Cain has never been a threat to the Democrats, and it is funny that someone would use “kkk” to describe today’s Democratic Party. Like Zell Miller said, the “Democrat Party” left the “KKKs” years ago.
Attack Dog
December 4th, 2011
6:07 am
I would hope that Ms. White is getting a payoff from the Democrats, or more likely Karl Rove, since her money train dropped her to run for POTUS. I wonder if Mrs. Cain came to an agreement or a settlement?
Attack Dog
December 4th, 2011
6:15 am
Cain is about as much a great man who pulled himself up by his bootstraps as one of the Cox sisters. Robert Woodruff was his benefactor from birth, he ruined thousands of lives pretending to be a CEO, cost retirement funds hundreds of millions of dollars as a corporate board, and been propped up by the Koch Brothers with the NRA, media, and his so-called candidacy.
dd
December 4th, 2011
6:25 am
I continue to be astonished by the people who think the $80,000 paid out by the National Restaurant Association for two sexual harassment claims was for no apparent reason. We all know that money would NEVER have been paid out unless there was very significant evidence to support the claims. You are either naive or stupid to think otherwise.
I don’t care. I gave up on the American political process long ago.
It seems to me that if Cain doesn’t have anything to hide, the agreement with the restaurant association wouldn’t be a problem.
Attack Dog
December 4th, 2011
6:27 am
Great man my foot. He dodged the draft and went to Purdue to keep his college deferments, stayed low while Jesse Jackson got concessions from Burger King, and then became a token with the company, and became Chair of a Federal Reserve branch, but had his 999 plan drafted by a Certified Financial Planner. The Republic Party in Georgia proved back in 2004 that they would not support someone like Cain, when they allowed Lynn Westmoreland to beat out Dylan Glenn, who is probably more qualified than Cain to be POTUS.
educated with common sense!!
December 4th, 2011
6:31 am
I sam so glad this Herman Cain circus is over!!!Where there is smoke there will be fire!!I do think these women that always come forward with these so call affairs with these men,make themselves look foolish, knowing that it take 2 to tangle!!!You knew he was married and you desided that you would milk him for what you could get.Makes you look like a fool and what ever else sleeky name you want to be call!! Just for records Herman Cain would not have won anyway, he is not smart enough on all the issues to run this country!!! We need a smart man in the white house to represent our country,we donot want to be the laughing stock by other countries,to say how dumb we are!!We have a smart man in the whitehouse now, that we should be proud of,he have worked wonders so far even with some people not trying to work with him, because of the color of his skin!1Yes he is a blackman,educated,smart,young enough to take and hold up to beening the president of this great country we call the UNITED STATES of AMERICA!!Don’t forget what a great family man he is!!I think as a country some of us like trashie people to run our country(sad).Some of us need to regroup to whatr is real!! C U around Mr Cain,doing anything else you want to do ,but please not PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES of AMERICA!!May God bless the UNSOA!!!
Tiberius
December 4th, 2011
6:33 am
I know Herman Cain enough to know that he is too smart a person to undertake a run for President if he had these alleged skeletons in his closet, knowing what the media would do if they were ever found out.
I pity the women who felt the need to elevate their status in the media’s eyes as they have shown little in the way of being productive human beings in their own right, and needing to take down someone else in order to feel big themselves.
Either way, they now become footnotes that no one will ever remember, and Herman can get to making some serious money. He’ll be remembered long after his accusers are forgotten.
Attack Dog
December 4th, 2011
6:36 am
Cain is such a great man that, based on current logic, Johnny Isakson should be running for POTUS. Oh yeah, I guess it is an unfounded accusation that Cain made financial contributions to Democratic Senator Bob Kerrey.
Tiberius
December 4th, 2011
6:37 am
“I continue to be astonished by the people who think the $80,000 paid out by the National Restaurant Association for two sexual harassment claims was for no apparent reason. We all know that money would NEVER have been paid out unless there was very significant evidence to support the claims. You are either naive or stupid to think otherwise.”
Or, as in your case, dd, you’ve never worked in a responsible position in a major business. These are called nuisance complaints, and the amount of money it would have taken to litigate these claims would have been far greater than the payouts eventually made.
Buckhead Boy
December 4th, 2011
6:38 am
Good news for all of you who continue to support Mr. Cain and a little bad news for the rest us. Since he “suspended” his campaign, you can put your money where your mouth is and donate and, come January, he can get federal matching funds from the rest of us. Also, you can donate to his lifestyle through his new and old con games. But before you do, I’d suggest you take a look at how the donations to his Herminator Pac have been used, because that even puts to shame the cons of those other Republican grifters, Sarah and Newt.
I truly felt sorry for the deluded supporters who turned-up for his event yesterday being invited to buy food from a vendor when they have dined, wined and lodged Mr. Cain so well over the past two years. I’m sure that they hadn’t made the trip to Atlanta in a corporate jet that they may have helped lease; and I doubt that many had even received one of the geejaws that they had helped buy from his company for the pretend campaign.
Attack Dog
December 4th, 2011
6:39 am
If Axelrod paid off Ms. White, why do I get the feeling that he has already told his wife, and you can be darn sure it will not be for the next 13-years.
clem
December 4th, 2011
6:40 am
strategy? hope you are on the jury if i am ever tried…wonder how many folks are in jail due to circumstantial evidence. guess they all need to be let go.
it would not have taken tons of money to prove ms. white wrong. he had a slimy camaign manager. and he had a good attorney supposedly. and if you like to give money to casual acquaintances without telling your spouse let us know.
don’t forget to leave milk and cookies for santa.
Honest Ingine
December 4th, 2011
6:49 am
Did not Newt have a lady 4-6 years ago, have the same skeleton in his closet? They all have, Kennedy, Clinton, Edwards, even the great MLK, had women on the side. Just wait until Obama’s camp leak out then they will all be on the same playing field.
clem
December 4th, 2011
6:51 am
tiberius, do tell us how much it costs on average for a nuisance case with just he said/she said evidence?
Tiberius
December 4th, 2011
6:53 am
clem, you can’t run a campaign for President AND defend yourself against “he said / she said” allegations.
The truth WILL come out about these women, and they will not look too good when it does.
Tiberius
December 4th, 2011
6:57 am
clem, the legal costs are simply staggering. At a minimum of $400/hr for a decent attorney, you’ll eat up $40k in less than a month’s worth of work on the case. And you haven’t even gotten to trial yet, which may take upwards of 2 years. All the while the accusation is hanging over your head.
Waste of time and money to defend these nuisance complaints.
Frederick Douglass
December 4th, 2011
7:06 am
Expect to see Herman roaming the streets and cul-de-sacs of Eagle’s Landing, wearing a raunchy bath robe, that gawd awful hat, and mumbling 9-9-9. The man’s done, nothing more to see here.
Buckhead Boy
December 4th, 2011
7:09 am
Tiberius,
I’ve worked in very responsible positions in major businesses and never witnessed a dime paid to dispose of a non-meritorious complaints, simply because to do so would invite more non-meritorious complaints.
You silly man. Do you even know that you have chosen for a screen name the name of a demented, old emperor who sexually abused little boys? Or, maybe you do, and that testifies to your disdain for complaints of sexual harassment?
clem
December 4th, 2011
7:13 am
thanks tiberius, you seem to know more than you are letting on…..if that is the case, mr cain with high priced attorney wood need to get on it because he only suspended his campaign. ross perot suspended his too back a few years ago and got back into campaign mode after several months. if he doesn’t get his name cleared, he will be forever the butt of jokes.
Tiberius
December 4th, 2011
7:17 am
Buckhead Boy, I doubt you’ve worked in anything remotely near the top of any major organization, simply because you haven’t shown the intellectual chops on this forum to look at things objectively, rather than your typical one-sided view through a liberal lens. Nor, do I believe that you have ever consulted a lawyer in a case such as this. I have, not as one being accused, but being at the top of an organization where another person was.
Secondly, my screen name is not that of the former emperor of which you speak, and has nothing to do with him. Nor does my lifestyle or views reflect the history of which you use to dismiss my logical and well-reasoned replies.
Now, if you wish to discuss this openly, honestly and objectively, please do so. Otherwise, your diatribes and accusations mean nothing to me.
dcb
December 4th, 2011
7:23 am
Chalk up another one to the media -
clem
December 4th, 2011
7:29 am
tiberius, one more question. if it costs that much, how can the plaintiff pay for this knowing there is maybe only a 50-50 chance? i understand an attorney taking a case if they get lots of publicity and win, but cain was not a celebrity years ago when running the nra…..guess there were and still are desparate attorneys (who couldn’t be that good will do anything for a buck.
Tiberius
December 4th, 2011
7:35 am
Plaintiffs usually can’t pay up front, clem, but there are still attorneys willing to take certain cases in the hope of a payday.
Organizations simply take a look at the people involved, their business, the costs, and determine whether the time and effort is worth it to pursue these cases. In many instances, it is simply easier, cheaper and better for the corporate (and corporate officer) image to settle these with confidentiality agreements and move on.
It is as much about optics as it is about the reality of the situation.
clem
December 4th, 2011
7:39 am
intriguing, do plaintiffs pay their attorney out of their settlement funds or does the defendant usually pay settlement costs plus opposing attorney fees…?
what a racquet!
clem
December 4th, 2011
7:57 am
guess mr. cain can now advocate tort and tart reform
Tiberius
December 4th, 2011
8:02 am
Depends on the agreement reached, clem.
Buckhead Boy
December 4th, 2011
8:09 am
Tiberius,
Your assumptions are as incorrect as your argument is spurious. To quote Mr. Cain you are “confusing apples and oranges” — complaints lodged with an employer and lawsuits. The claims against Mr. Cain were of the former variety only. Major businesses carry liability insurance for the latter, and any decisions regarding defending against such are made by the insurer. In the instances involving Mr. Cain, we do not even know if a lawsuit was ever threatened, but we do know that the employer obviously found the claims sufficiently meritorious to itself dispose of them. Again, employers do not reward non-meritorious claims themselves or merely refer them to insurers, because either way the result will be more claims and more cost, whether directly or through premiums.
But, since you claim to know Mr. Cain, maybe you can explain the coincidence of him leaving his employment with the NRA immediately after the second and written complaint was lodged with that employer and a half year before his employment contract was due to expire.
Tiberius
December 4th, 2011
8:21 am
“Major businesses carry liability insurance for the latter, and any decisions regarding defending against such are made by the insurer.”
Not even remotely true, Buckhead Boy, which once again shows you really were never in any position sufficiently responsible enough, as you claim.
“maybe you can explain the coincidence of him leaving his employment with the NRA immediately after the second and written complaint was lodged with that employer and a half year before his employment contract was due to expire.”
I would suggest you ask Mr. Cain. Or you may simply continue your biased attack on him and make another claim you know nothing abut.
tim
December 4th, 2011
8:23 am
DID YOU SEE IT? DID YOU SEE THE COWARD RUN?
Mr Cain had his chance to disprove all 4 sexual harrassment complaints. He mumbled stumbled and blamed everyone else. His affair? He ran like the wind.
He got caught and cowered behind chosen words.
BYE BYE HERMIN……you’re a lyin loser.
Sister Sarah
December 4th, 2011
8:37 am
@Look before I leap…
I can attest to you, that I saw and heard with my own eyes and ears just last week, John Huntsman tell an interviewer when confronted about introducing Sarah Palin as the nominee at the Repub convention that he “did what (he) was told to do”!! He acknowledged not really knowing Sarah Palin from Eve. The RNC picked him to do it and he was given the script to do it. When answering the question, he was politically correct, but his BODY LANGUAGE conveyed that he was totally embarrassed and regretful in retrospect in doing so.
Having said all that, while the kooks on here would label me a “liberal” (well, I guess I AM; I am FREE of mind to think whatever the h3ll I desire. Strange how that works), J. Huntsman is exactly the type of candidate who I would have no problem with whatsoever if he were elected President of the U.S. He is obviously a very pragmatic individual who would govern with a high degree of intellect and political knowledge. Furthermore, it would be an outstanding competition between he and Obama on all levels. Right wingers are SOOO mentally challenged.
Tiberius
December 4th, 2011
8:52 am
Ah. The “conservatives are stupid and liberals are smarter than everybody else” argument.
Way to have a supposedly intelligent discussion, Sister Sarah.
A dad
December 4th, 2011
8:56 am
To all those discounting Cain for lack of experience, what experience did the current POTUS have when taking the job. Law school (oh yeah, that’s realism), community organizer, and a first term senator. Cain at least has sustantial real-world business expereince, something sorely lacking in DC. I’m not sure I would have voted for him in the primaries, but he was a bit of a breath of fresh air from Obama, ROmeny, Gingrich, and all the other beltway insiders who would never have changed anything if elected.
Jackie
December 4th, 2011
8:57 am
The media can’t get enough of attacking Cain but looked the other way with an open, current affair that John Edwards had while his wife was dying of cancer. Without the National Enquirer ( of all rags) we still would not know about Edward’s affair. While Galloway and the media want to dissect Cain, we shoudl all remember their silence for so long about John Edwards.
A dad
December 4th, 2011
9:01 am
Dear Boy – don’t know where you’ve worked and all, but as a defense lawyer I can tell you first hand that insurance company’s have their business models for various types of claims/lawsuits. Discrimination claims are very costly, and to try one to conclusion may take over a hundred grand and there is no guarantee of success (and yes, I have seen mertiless claims win, and claims with merit lose). 80k for two discriminationclaims is peanuts. It’s “don’t go away mad just go away” money. Funny thing though. With all the lastest allegations from Cain’s “mistress,” why has some enterprising invesitigative journalist dug into all these trips she claimed to have taken, etc. Trips, purchases, etc., all leave a record. Heck, my investigator could track all this down in less than a week. Funny no one is seeking to establish the truth on thisone.
Tiberius
December 4th, 2011
9:06 am
A dad, I can guarantee that Herman Cain will be vigorously pursuing the issue of this latest accuser to show she’s lying. Since he’s no longer a candidate, he can focus his attention on clearing his name.
And Herman can be very, very focused.