Santorum: Let’s Hope Cain’s Telling The Truth

Presidential hopeful Rick Santorum told reporters Tuesday that he does not have enough insight into Herman Cain’s harassment scandal “to make a value judgment.”

“Let’s just hope Herman’s side of the story is exactly what happened,” the former Pennsylvania Senator said an editorial meeting with the New Hampshire Union Leader . “It’s hard in these kind of situations to find out what really is the truth.”

Santorum added that he does not know Cain very well.

Early last week, a report from Politico revealed that while Cain was head of the National Restaurant Association, he was accused of sexually harassing two female employees. Following the story, two other women reported that they had experienced inappropriate treatment from the ex-Godfather’s Pizza CEO, including Chicago woman Sharon Bialek, who described what could be interpreted as an incident of sexual assault.

During a press conference Tuesday night, Cain remained adamant that the allegations are baseless, attributing the reports to “the Democrat machine” and unnamed forces hoping to keep a businessman from assuming office.

Like other GOP candidates, Santroum, who is lagging in the polls, has been highly critical of Cain’s tax policies. During the meeting, Santorum emphasized that the 999 plan would likely not pass and, if it did, could ultimately hurt economic recovery.

Poll: Obama Holds Strong Lead In Ohio

A new poll shows President Barack Obama holding a strong lead in Ohio, a crucial swing state.

According to Public Policy Polling, Obama leads GOP frontrunners Mitt Romney by 50-41 percent and Herman Cain by 50-39 percent.

When matched against the rest of the GOP field, Obama does better. Against Rick Perry, Obama is ahead 53-36, a staggering 17 point lead. Newt Gingrich fares slightly better, trailing Obama 51-38 percent, and both Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann fall 13 points behind the President.

In 2008, Obama won Ohio by 52 to 47 percent.

The Buckeye state was the site of an intense political battle Tuesday night that seemed to have strengthened the state’s Democrats. Voters overturned a law initiated by Republican Governor John Kasich restricting public employees collective bargaining rights.

Obama’s campaign arm, Obama for America, had a strong Ohio presence in the lead up to the race.

The poll was conducted among 1,022 likely Ohio voters between November 4^th and 6^th. It was released Wednesday.

Full results can be read here.

Cain Flatly Denies Charges

GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain is sticking by his claim that he never sexually harassed anyone during his time as head of the National Restaurant Association.

During a heavily watched news conference in Phoenix on Tuesday, the surprise contender rebuked new public allegations from a pair of women who said that he acted inappropriately toward them while they were employees of his.

“The charges and the accusations, I absolutely reject,” Cain said. “They simply didn’t happen.”

In response to claims made yesterday by a woman named Sharon Bialek, Cain said that his first thought upon seeing her on television was “I don’t even know who this woman is.”

“I tried to remember if I recognized her and I didn’t,” he said. He added that friends tell him he’s “pretty good” at remembering people “that have made some impression on me.”

Bialek, who was let go by the organization in 1997, alleged during a televised news conference in New York that Cain had groped her in his car after a dinner meeting in which she asked him for help finding a new job.

This afternoon, a federal government employee named Karen Kraushaar told the New York Times that Cain had harassed her while she worked under him. Before going public, Kraushaar had been previously identified by Politico as one of two female employees that received cash settlements as part of agreements to leave the company.

Cain said that he did recall the complaint lodged against him by Kraushaar, but denied any wrongdoing in the matter. Cain said that he had commented once to his accuser that she was the same height as his wife, Gloria. He held his hand flat out against his chin to demonstrate the gesture that he says made Kraushaar feel uncomfortable.

According to Cain, his wife of more than four decades isn’t buying any of the charges.

“I have known you for 46 years,” Cain said she told him. “That doesn’t even sound like anything you would ever do to anyone.”

Cain broadly accused the “Democrat machine” of creating the scandal, but sidestepped efforts by reporters to get him to clarify his assertion.

He then vowed to press on with his campaign.

“I will not be deterred by false accusations,” he defiantly proclaimed. “Ain’t gonna happen.”

Poll: Wary Electorate Backs Obama Over GOP frontrunners

A new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll shows that although 51 percent of voters disapprove of Barack Obama’s performance as President, they would still back him over the GOP field’s frontrunners in a general election.

When pitched against Mitt Romney, Obama leads by 49 to 43 percent, his slimmest margin. Against Herman Cain, Obama fares better, with a 53 to 38 percent lead.

The poll was conducted after the Politico story revealed sexual harassment charges against Cain but prior to the latest allegation from Sharon Bialek.

Among registered voters who would likely vote in the Republican primary, Romney and Cain run neck and neck at 28 and 27 percent respectively. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich comes in third with 13 percent. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and Texas Governor Rick Perry both chart at 10 percent. No other candidate comes in with more than 5 percent.

The poll also found that Obama is held in a more positive light than members of the GOP field, with 45 percent saying they view him in an at least somewhat positive manner. Among the GOP field, Romney is the most likeable at 6 percent and Cain comes in second at 23 percent.

The survey was comprised of 1,000 respondents between November 2^nd and 5^th.

The full results can be seen here.

OPINION: Cain Has One Choice If He Wants To Win

Despite the fact that a fourth woman, Sharon Bialek, has now come forward and publicly accused Herman Cain of sexual misconduct (assault in this case), the GOP hopeful is not finished.

Just look at the polls, where Cain still leads or is near the top of most surveys. That could change in the coming days, but so far Cain seems like Teflon. It’s likely, however, that his response to his latest accuser will determine the future of his campaign.

Cain will hold a press conference today, and really, he has two choices: Continue denying the allegations by counter-accusing these women of leveling false charges against him, or drop a bomb on everyone and admit wrongdoing.

Based on Ms. Bialek’s testimony, Cain seems pretty guilty. I know I know, we’re all innocent until proven guilty — I’m just making an objective observation. On the surface, Bialek is a Republican voter with only a small amount of publicity to be gained. In addition, those in the know say that her celebrity lawyer, Gloria Allred, would never create such fanfare over a case in which her defendant is lying.

So, assuming that Bialek is telling the truth, then morally it would serve Cain well to confess to the allegations. No one wants to support a guy who tries covering up the fact that he goes around harassing women (though at least he didn’t rape any little boys).

Politically though, admitting guilt at this point is suicide. Not only would it ruin Cain’s reputation as a man, but it’s probably too late now to save face with voters who just want their candidate to be honest. Moreover, he’ll lose any shot he ever had of securing endorsements from the values crowd in Washington.

If ever there was a time for Cain to admit that he acted inappropriately toward these women, it would’ve been right from the start when Politico gave him ten days to respond to its original story. Botching his initial response as badly as he did put him in a real mess.

Last night, Cain repeated his assertion to late-night host Jimmy Kimmel that he was falsely accused. Now that he’s past the point of no return, if he wants to stay in the race that’s really the only move he has.