Regarding the Quinnipiac poll, MSNBC/Time magazine analyst Mark Halperin cautions that it was taken over the weekend and through Monday, when Sharon Bialek became the first public face and name to accuse Cain, as opposed to the anonymous women who received legal settlements from the presidential contender, as originally reported by Politico.
But with a full-fledged attack on Bialek (and the other woman to publicly come forward, Karen Kraushaar) underway by Team Cain, it may take another woman to publicly come forward before that support ebbs, apparently.
Cain again underperformed in last night's debate, particularly when asked up front about Italy's current fiscal crises and how it might affect America. But his miscues only seem to drive up his "human" factor, apparently, even though the D.C. conventional wisdom's collective attitude is that Cain is still not a serious contender, polls be damned.
Although Cain has also fumbled his response to the allegations of sexual harassment, the conservative right, led by their field marshall Rush Limbaugh, has driven the narrative for the past 10 days that it's been the "liberal media" who is driving these stories, always a traditional bogeyman that still carries weight, despite the ascendancy of Fox News and talk radio.
Not every conservative is standing behind Cain.
Judson Phillips, the founder with Tea Party Nation, in an email to Tea Party Nation members, wrote that Cain should drop out of the race.
Herman Cain has got to go. I do not believe Cain’s accusers. There are too many questions about them. The allegations are not why Cain should leave. The campaign’s response is why he should now withdraw.
“Ten days in, the Cain campaign is still stumbling around like newly castrated cattle. [Campaign manager] Mark Block should have been gone nine days ago. Cain should have a competent team in place by now as well as someone really good at crisis management. So far, it is not there.”
If Cain cannot run his own campaign, how is he going to run the country? A few days ago, I would have been willing to accept Cain as the nominee. Cain was not my first choice but I could have easily supported him. No longer.”
It should be noted that Phillips is a Newt Gingrich supporter.
