Herman Cain Politics

Newt, Schmewt. Mitt, Schmitt.

Herman Cain dropped out of the presidential race months ago, but that won't stop Stephen Colbert from rallying for him in advance of today's primary.

The Comedy Central host hit the campus of the College of Charleston Friday, joined by over 3,000 students, a marching band, cheerleaders, and Cain:

Stephen Colbert-Herman Cain Rally

Colbert, who toyed with running in the South Carolina GOP primary himself, was waylaid by the technicality of not getting his name on the ballot in time.

Cain, who abandoned his bid in the fall after a brief surge to the top of the polls, happens to still be on the ballot, so Colbert threw his support to Cain.

A gospel choir sang "This Little Light of Mine" before Colbert delivered an address at the "Rock Me Like a Herman Cain: South Cain-Olina Primary Rally."

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The campaign of Presidential quasi-candidate Stephen Colbert was dealt a major blow this week when it was established that voters can’t write his name in on the ballot during Saturday’s Republican primary in his native South Carolina.

Colbert has, as a result, devised a new strategy.

Well, Colbert Super PAC supporting him has anyway. The organization is now asking voters to pull the lever for Herman Cain (remember him?), who still appears on the ballot, as he qualified for it before dropping out of the race.

Stephen Colbert Super PAC Ad (Ft. Samuel L. Jackson)

As Colbert’s TV ad, narrated by the incomparable Samuel L. Jackson says of Cain: “He’s such an outsider, he is not even running for president!”

The ad slams Colbert for “turning our election into a circus.” Obviously.

If you're confused, and frankly we don't blame you if so, the Colbert Super PAC is a political action committee ... formed expressly to mock such things.

A Super PAC can raise and spend unlimited amounts of cash on a candidate's behalf, yet cannot coordinate efforts with the candidate directly.

Colbert is staging a faux campaign as a means of ridiculing the system's absurdity, though he led Jon Huntsman and tied Rick Perry in one poll.

Huntsman quit the race Monday, while Rick Perry dropped out this morning. Colbert is still going hard, even if it's on Herman Cain's behalf.

Watch your back, Mitt and Newt.

In the wake of both sexual harassment and infidelity allegations, Republication Presidential nominee Herman Cain suspended his campaign this afternoon, effectively ending his bid for the White House in 2012.

Herman Cain Ends White House Bid

"As of today, with a lot of prayer and soul searching, I am suspending my presidential campaign," Cain said at an Atlanta rally, vowing that "I am not going to be silenced and I am not going away."

Cain cited the "continued distraction" of chatter over Ginger White's claim that she carried on a 13-year affair - during which Cain supposedly showered her with gifts and financial help - with the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza as the basis for his decision.

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Amid a flurry of salacious allegations, GOP Presidential candidate Herman Cain is thinking seriously about becoming former GOP Presidential candidate Herman Cain.

All before a single vote has been cast in the race, no less.

The Georgia businessman told his staff this morning that he's "reassessing" his bid for the White House after yet another female accuser - Ginger White - came forward with accusations against him, specifically that they had a 13-YEAR affair.

Ginger White Speaks on Herman Cain Affair

The Iowa caucuses are scheduled for January 3. While he no longer has frontrunner status, polling indicates Cain could still be competitive in Iowa.

Cain has denied the affair allegations in public and did so again during the conference call, but told his staff, "Obviously, this is cause for reassessment."

Before Ginger White, four other women accused Cain of sexual harassment during his tenure as head of the National Restaurant Association in the '90s.

He refuted those claims as well, but acknowledged that with White, he says, "we have to reassess whether or not this is going to create too much of a cloud, in some people’s minds, as to whether or not they would be able to support us going forth."

Cain admits he knows White, but had only been trying to help her out financially ... as a friend. No word if Gloria Cain will back him up on that one.

A Georgia woman, Ginger White, says she and Herman Cain had a 13-year affair that lasted nearly until the businessman announced his White House run.

Last weekend, FOX 5 Atlanta sat down with White, who insisted that despite coming forward, “I'm not proud. I didn't want to come out with this. I did not.”

White was worried a political tsunami was headed her way, so, she decided to head it off, confessing her alleged 13-year-long affair with the Republican.

Ginger White Speaks on Herman Cain Affair

NOTE: Herman Cain denies White's allegations categorically, and the candidate's wife, Gloria Cain, has defended her husband from all the allegations so far.

That said, the alleged mistress insists this affair was real.

“It was pretty simple,” White said. “It wasn't complicated. I was aware he was married. I was also aware I was involved in a very inappropriate relationship.”

Ginger White says she met Herman Cain in the late 90s in Louisville, Ky., when as president of the National Restaurant Association, he made a presentation.

“He made it very intriguing,” White told FOX 5. “It was fun. It was something that took me away from my humdrum life at the time. And it was exciting.”

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Herman Cain's wife, Gloria Cain, says the claims of sexual harassment against the GOP presidential candidate simply don't ring true because that's not who he is.

The Georgina businessman "totally respects women," according to his wife, who adds, "he would have to have a split personality to do the things that were said."

In an interview to be aired Monday during Greta Van Susteren's Fox News show On the Record, Gloria Cain said she can't believe the claims against her spouse:

Gloria Cain Interview

Cain is accused of harassing women - Karen Kraushaar, Sharon Bialek and two others - when he was head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s.

Gloria Cain said of those allegations:

"To hear such graphic allegations and know that would have been something that was totally disrespectful of her as a woman, I know that's not the person he is."

Cain's wife of 43 years is often described as "gentle" and "the nicest woman you'll ever meet." The two were married in 1968, and have two adult children.

Herman Cain, who has risen to the top of some national polls in the race for the Republican nomination, has denied wrongdoing in the last couple of weeks.

His unfocused responses to the claims, along with joking about Anita Hill, have made it tough for him to move forward with his White House bid, however.

Will the allegations against Cain derail his campaign?

Presidential hopeful Herman Cain, already facing allegations of sexual harassment from four women, was caught joking about Anita Hill during a campaign stop this week.

A college professor, Hill infamously became the poster woman for such claims when she made them 20 years ago about Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas.

A Fox News camera caught Cain laughing about Hill during a campaign visit to Kalamazoo, Mich., Thursday, when a supporter brought up the professor's name.

"You hear the latest news today? Anita Hill is going to come …" a man told Cain. "Is she going to endorse me?" Cain joked, as he and the crowd laughed heartily ...

Herman Cain Anita Hill Joke

Herman Cain insisted later that he wasn't trying to insult Hill.

"We walked into this room and ... one of my supporters said, 'Anita Hill was trying to contact you' and my response was, 'Is she going to endorse me?'" he said.

"He said it in a humorous way. I gave a humorous response."

The Republican continues to fend off allegations that he sexually harassed four women when he was head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s.

Karen Kraushaar allegedly received a settlement to leave the group along with another woman. Sharon Bialek alleges Cain tried to grope her at a later date.

Joking about Hill, while essentially harmless, is not likely to help Cain, who some say has been less than forthcoming, shake the story that has dogged him for weeks.

How will the sexual harassment allegations impact Cain?

Karen Kraushaar was sexually harassed by Republican Presidential candidate Herman Cain in the 1990s and left her job because of it, she said yesterday.

The became the second woman to come forward and put a name and face behind accusations that Cain sexually harassed her when she worked for him.

Karen Kraushaar, now a spokeswoman for the Inspector General's Office in the U.S Treasury Department and a former journalist, is pictured below:

Kraushaar was one of the two women who received a financial settlement of about $45,000 after accusing Cain of sexual harassment in the 1990s. She worked at the National Restaurant Association while Cain headed the trade group.

Sharon Bialek, who went public earlier, offered many more details.

"She is a professional who had to leave her job because of Herman Cain. It is quite simple," a former National Restaurant Association employee said of Kraushaar.

The latest Herman Cain accuser told the N.Y. Times she hoped she and other accusers might hold a joint press conference "where all of the women would be together with our attorneys and all of this evidence would be considered together."

"These allegations can be considered together as a body of evidence."

Cain said Kraushaar's allegations were the only ones he remembered, but that they - like the rest of the salacious claims made against him - are not credible.

Will sexual harassment allegations derail the Cain Train?

Herman Cain’s support for president has withstood a lot, but will new sexual harassment accuser Sharon Bialek derail the Republican's White House ambitions?

After almost a week of reports about his alleged sexual harassment while head of the National Restaurant Association, Cain remained at the top of a new poll.

That poll was taken before Sharon Bialek's Monday press conference, though.

By adding a name and a face to publicly accuse Cain of some explicit things, with alleged details, the sexual harassment issue has become even more salacious.

The previous accusers have not accused Cain on the record, but took settlements in the 1990s that Politico says stemmed from Cain's inappropriate actions.

Bialek opened up about Cain's alleged crotch-grabbing advances, however, leading some to wonder if Cain's time at the top of GOP public opinion polls is over.

Attorney Gloria Allred held her press conference, and the known Democrat's penchant for political and high-profile scandals could actually rally Cain’s support.

Tea Party darling Cain can also preach to the proverbial choir when he calls this a smear campaign by the liberal media, so he may survive the scandal yet.

What do you think? How will the allegations impact Cain's campaign?

Flanked by lawyer Gloria Allred, Sharon Bialek held a press conference Monday alleging sexual harassment by Republican Presidential candidate Herman Cain.

She says he tried to touch her inappropriately after a work dinner.

Specifically, Bialek, a former National Restaurant Association employee, said Cain made a pass at her after a dinner meeting in Washington D.C., "reaching for her genitals" and "putting her head near his crotch" while promising to help her.

Sharon Bialek says she reached out to Herman Cain when she was fired from the Education Foundation at the National Restaurant Association in July 1997.

Bialek says Cain told her to come to D.C. so they could talk.

She did, and to her surprise, Cain hooked her up with a huge hotel room, took her to dinner, and afterward, promised to show her the NRA headquarters.

Once they were in the car, though ... things got weird:

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