Cain Sidesteps Sexual Harassment Questions

By Tim Young

Amid growing doubts over the future of his campaign, GOP hopeful Herman Cain was able to skirt questioning about his alleged sexual misconduct in the CNBC Republican Primary Debate Wednesday night.

“The American people deserve better than someone being tried in the court of public opinion based on unfounded accusations,” Cain said to the favorable crowd.

Cain’s answers, which were met with thunderous applause and cheering from the crowd, did not directly address the allegations of either Kraushaar or Sharon Bialek, the first woman to publicly accuse Cain of wrongdoing.

“For every one person who comes forward with a false accusation…there are thousands who would say none of that sort of activity ever came from Herman Cain,” Cain said.

Cain cited surges in his campaign fundraising over the past week and a half as evidence that Republican voters are still confident in his candidacy.

 “Over the last nine days, the voters have voted with their dollars, and they’re saying they don’t care about the character assassination, they care about leadership and getting this economy growing and all of the other problems we face.”

Despite mounting harassment claims, Cain continues to poll as a top tier candidate. According to a Wall Street Journal/NBC survey released released Tuesday, Cain and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney both lead the GOP field in a statistical tie.