Lowering Cain

Susan Saulny has an article in The New York Times about the latest troubles of Herman Cain:

An Atlanta woman came forward in an interview broadcast with details about what she called a thirteen-year affair with Herman Cain, the Republican presidential contender whose campaign was already struggling to overcome damage from accusations of sexual harassment. The woman, Ginger White (photo), made the disclosure in an interview with Fox 5 News in Atlanta, becoming the fifth person to accuse Cain of improper behavior. White is not, however, claiming that harassment took place. Rather, she described what amounted, in her words, to a romance. “It was pretty simple,” White said. “It wasn’t complicated. I was aware that he was married. And I was also aware I was involved in a very inappropriate situation, relationship.”
White showed the news station some of her cellphone bills, including sixty phone calls or text messages to and from a number she said was for Cain’s private cellphone. The contacts were made during four different months as early as 4:26 a.m. and as late as 7:52 p.m. The most recent were in September.
The television station said that it had sent a text message to the number White gave it and that Cain had returned the call. In the call, Cain said that he “knew Ginger White” and that she had his number because he was “trying to help her financially”.
Cain, speaking to Wolf Blitzer on CNN, acknowledged knowing White, whom he called an acquaintance, but denied having a sexual relationship with her. “I have nothing to hide,” he said. “I did nothing wrong.” When asked directly by Blitzer: “Was this an affair?”, Cain responded: “It was not.”
The accusations come as Cain’s standing has been falling in recent polls, with his campaign battling not only the earlier accusations of sexual misconduct, but also the reaction to the candidate’s trouble answering questions on subjects like President Obama’s handling of the conflict in Libya.
In her interview, White told Fox 5 News that Cain had showered her with gifts and flown her around the country to meet him at various engagements after they met in the late 1990s in Louisville, Kentucky, when Cain was president of the National Restaurant Association.
After that first meeting, White said, she and Cain had drinks, and he invited her back to his hotel room, where they planned their next meeting. It went on like this for years, she said, until Cain began to seriously consider the presidency. She said their sexual relationship ended about eight months ago.
White said she came forward after seeing how Cain, a businessman who lives in Atlanta, treated the women who had accused him of harassment. “It bothered me that they were being demonized,” White said. “I felt bad for them.” She said she also “felt trapped” after a tipster alerted the local Fox station about her and other news outlets began to call. “I wanted to give my side before it was thrown out there and made out to be something filthy,” White said. “Some people will look at this and say that is exactly what it is. I’m sorry for that.”
A lawyer for Cain, L. Lin Wood, released a statement about White’s claim: “This appears to be an accusation of private, alleged consensual conduct between adults, a subject which is not a proper subject of inquiry by the media or the public,” he said.
White is an unemployed single mother. Before the interview, Fox learned that she had filed a sexual harassment claim against an employer in 2001. That case was settled. The station also found a bankruptcy filing nearly 23 years ago in Kentucky, and several eviction notices in the Atlanta area over the past six years.
The station also reported that White had a former business partner who once sought a “stalking temporary protective order” against her for “repeated e-mails & texts threatening lawsuit and defamation of character”. The case was dismissed, but it was followed by a libel lawsuit against White. A judge entered an order against White because she failed to respond to the lawsuit, Fox reported.
Cain went on CNN to pre-emptively address White’s claims, saying, “I want to give you a heads-up and everyone a heads-up.” Cain took a nonchalant attitude in his attempt to get ahead of the story, saying he was not concerned for himself or his reputation. “I am more worried that this is going to hurt my wife and my family,” he said. “I can take the lumps.”
He refused to go into any detail about White, and also told Blitzer that he had already informed his wife, whose response was: “Here we go again.”
Accusations of sexual harassment against Cain began surfacing at the beginning of this month, all dating from the years that he ran the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s. Cain has repeatedly denied the allegations.
Asked on CNN whether he would consider dropping out of the race, as his campaign has been in crisis mode and off its message for weeks now, Cain said: “We’re going to stay focused on this campaign.”

Rico says the latest news has Cain 'rethinking' his candidacy, as if much thinking were necessary... (But surely the National Restaurant Association is tired of having its name dragged into every news story about Cain.)