and then both he and the wings float to the ground on separate parachutes. >> whoo! >> reporter: there was no emergency this time, and jetman landed gracefully. talk about winging it. ♪ when you're a jet you're a jet♪ >> reporter: jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> i wouldn't do it. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." the news continues next on cnn. good evening, everyone. strong indications tonight the surprising presidential candidacy of herman cain is in its final days. the republican businessman told his top aides today a reassessment is necessary because of a georgia woman's allegations of an extended extra marital affair. in a sometimes emotional conference call, cain forcefully denied any inappropriate behavior and offered financial support to a friend down on her luck, nothing more. he conceded this latest allegation was taking an emotional toll on him and his

family and said he would decide whether fund-raising is strong enough to stay in the race at least through the iowa caucuses 35 days from now. steve grubs is cain's chairman, on the conference call this morning and is with us live to start the program from davenport, iowa. tell me your gut. does your gut tell you yes or no you'll have a candidate come saturday or sunday? >> i think we'll definitely have a campaign and a candidate come this weekend and all the way to january 3rd. the real issue is, you know, the impact on the iowa cam. . we've got almost 900 precinct captains in place, working to keep them. today we added more, we lost a couple. for most part we added more than we lost. we're charging ahead, with a lot of effort i think we're going to storm the gates january 3rd. >> on the call this morning, i want to be clear, you were listening, mr. cain said he was doing a reassessment, because of the new allegations and within several days he would make a decision, is that correct? >> well, the reassessment that i

heard, people heard different things, but what i heard him say was that we would reassess like right after the iowa straw poll this last august, which was a resource allocation reassessment. i think he's planning to continue forward and i hope he does. you look at john mccain in '07, clinton in '91, sometimes campaigns go through a time where everybody wants to write their obituary. i think herman cain is what we need and i think if he stays the course, then he'll do fine come the iowa caucuses. >> again, since you're on the call i want to get your perspective. here's what, from a transcript of the phone call what mr. cain said today. now with latest one we have to do an assessment 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. he went on to say, according to a transcript, it's also taken a toll on my wife and family, as you would imagine. any time you put another cloud of doubt in the court of public opinion, for some people you're

guilty until proven innocence. the public will have to decide whether they believe her or whether they believe me. what is the test? whether fundrai-raising comes i overnight tonight and tomorrow? >> well, i think that's going to be a big part of. this campaign is sustained by small contributions. we don't have major donors and he's not a candidate who's able to self-fund the whole thing. so if people make contributions, then we'll keep the campaign doors open and be able to keep paying people. otherwise, otherwise herman cain will have to make a decision whether he can afford to keep moving forward. i believe people will come through and i believe that we have enough supporters across the nation to keep this campaign viable. >> you're a veteran of the iowa ground campaign, the caucus campaign. it's very difficult organizing. you know how to get it done. do you have the resources you need tonight. is herman cain on the radio? is there a tv ad by in the works? do you direct mail going out to republican iowa caucusgoers?

are those things on hold because of this problem? >> well, i can tell you that they're all in the works and we will see by the end of the week if they get funded. we do have a mail plan. we have a tv and radio plan. primarily, our hope is to have a great ground game and support it with some paid media and some mail. >> but as of today, you don't have the approval to spend that money or money in the bank where you can just go and do it? >> as of today, we are waiting to see what happens and as soon as we get the green light, we will move forward. yes, we are ready to go with that. >> you say you lost some precinct captains and gained some others. describe what a conversation like that is like, you're reaching out to somebody, or somebody calls you up and says, steve, i'm sorry, i can't do this. what are those conversations like? >> primarily there are some people who have concerns about the direction of the campaign and you know they would like to see less drama, as we all would.

and they -- there are people who believe we need to get back on our message, which we believe that as well. having said that the good news is we gained more supporters today than we lost. so at the end of the day, when i look at our nightly reports, like i get every single night, i'll see more precinct captains today than last night, which is more than last week. overall we'll see a net benefit. obviously, these things are a distraction, they slow us down, it's a challenge. but we're going to keep moving forward. i believe in herman cain and there's an awful lot of people who do, too. i hope that on january 3rd we're going to give people the opportunity to vote for him. >> steve grubbs, a veteran organizer out there, appreciate your time on this difficult day. we'll stay in touch. 35 nights from tonight, iowa kicks off campaign 2012. newt gingrich brought up the drama in south carolina. gingrich made a brief statement to reporters before they had a chance to ask him about it. >> i'm not going to have any

comment. i think it's his decision to make. he has to do what he thinks is best. >> gingrich could have the most to gain from a cain collapse. our polling earlier this month found gingrich was the second choice of 4 in 10 cain voters. mitt romney was next, the second choice of 25% of cain backers. let's get additional reporter from ron brownstein, editorial journal and our political analyst, gloria borger. you have to applaud steve grubbs, loyalty and hanging in there. he has a direct mail plan, he has a radio plan a tv plan a ground game plan, he doesn't have the money. >> he might not have a candidate. he'll have to see. clearly the money's important. don't forget, after the sexual harassment allegations were raised the cain campaign started raking it in they raised $2 million in a few days. the question is whether there's a critical mass. again, these are different allegations. it's not an issue of harassment, it's a consensual affair, which

he denies. the question is whether the money keeps coming in. the way it did after the first set of charges. i tend to believe that history's not going to repeat itself, that you reached this critical mass, people start scratching their heads, you lose conservative support, we've seen that in iowa, south carolina, even before this recent wrinkle. >> if you go through the transcript of the telephone call and the tone mr. cain had, it's very different, i want you to listen, he was here yesterday talking to wolf blitzer he was more defiant and sounded much more determined to stay in the race. >> you're staying in the race, you're not dropping out? >> i'm not dropping out of this race, no. as long as my wife is bemihind and my wife believes i am staying in the race, i'm staying in the race. i'm sick and tired of the hurt and harm somebody's doing to my family with these baseless charges. >> overnight, he says we need a

reassessment and if the emotional toll is significant, if it takes a high toll on my family, maybe i get out. >> right. two things i find fascinating. first the metric, the ability to raise money and fund the campaign in iowa and beyond is a marker this campaign, fought entirely through these nationally televised debates is moving to move down into the conventional ground game into the states that was critical before but not overshadowed by the impact of the debates. second, the quality -- the qualifications that he set up on whether or not to continue, he is already facing questions about whether his support now has a lower ceiling than it would have earlier. he has maintained a floor but the ceiling's come down, even before this allegation. you have to ask the question, okay, do you really believe with this added weight on it that you have a legitimate chance of rising to the top or are you just putting yourself and your family through scrutiny that can be very difficult? >> let's take a look. you make an important point. you had the previous allegations

which he denied of sexual harassment. he's had debate performances and answers to questions about foreign policy where he's been a bit shaky. national polling of herman cain, our cnn/orc poll, here, boom, the big jump. he was the front-runner for a little bit. this is last couple of weeks. he's dealt with bad debate performances and allegations of sexual harassment. th is where he had come from 30 down to 17. the collection of the iowa and new hampshire, iowa's red, new hampshire is orange. watch this. you see again flat, starts going up, especially iowa, he went way up. new hampshire 18%. now at about 7 1/2 in new hampshire. he's lost half of his support in iowa. to your point in a conversation earlier with steve, he said this is the time in the campaign when you need to start spending money. you can't be a debate candidate. you need to start turning people out. how do you recover? >> it's difficult to recover, but he has other baggage. it's not just the question of

women, by the way he wasn't doing very well with women ever. >> as you make that point, let's show the point. 22% of republican men support herman cain in our polling, 12% of women. >> exactly. exactly. he wasn't doing well with women, as you show. and also, he had substantive problems. couldn't answer a very simple and pointed question about whether he disagreed with barack obama's policy on libya, republicans starting to take a second look at 9-9-9, deciding they don't like a national sales tax, and on and on, poor debate performances. and so what he had going for him in a way was the like ability, republicans in the polls show the republicans liked herman cain, the more these things pile on, the less they're going to like him. >> he was proof, too, ron of the perot tea party combinatiocombi people wanted something din t y

different they didn't want another politician. look at field without herman cain it's politicians. >> this is the outsider conundrum. the same qualities that make them attractive make it harder to wear well. someone outside the political system who seems fresh but that comes with costs. they have not been vetted the same way people have run for offices -- frequently run for office has and lack the command of all of the issues even the command of how you sound coherent and competent when you don't know the answer, something politicians learn how to do. the strengths that elevated herman cain have started to pull him down. >> the big question now, we see in the pulse that a lot of his support is going to newt gingrich. the question is whether mitt romney is going to be able to convince some of those conservatives that actually they ought to go with him because he might be the most electable candidate. >> a feel without cain hurts mitt romney. he needs as many other people to his right as possible. >> to fight with each other. >> that has been his great advantage. >> gloria, ron, thanks for

coming in. michael jackson's doctor is heading to jail for his pole role in the pop icon's death. does the time fit the crime. am menesty is a dirty world. might the gop pull it to the center on something that is emotional and front and center in presidential politics. when you have tough pain, do you want fast relief? try bayer advanced aspirin. it's not the bayer aspirin you know. it's different. first, it's been re-engineered with micro-particles. second, it enters the bloodstream fast, and rushes relief to the site of your tough pain. the best part? it's proven to relieve pain twice as fast as before. bayer advanced aspirin. test how fast it works for you. love it, or get your money back.

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>> tonight's number is a big one, at moment a big dividing line in the republican presidential race. 11.2 million, 11.2, an estimated 11.2 million unauthorized immigrants, illegal immigrants, living in the united states according to the pew hispanic center. that makes up almost 4%, 3.7% of the u.s. population. a look where they live. the darker the state, the higher population of illegal immigrants. let's look at this. there are 72% of the foreign-born people living in the united states are here legally, 28%. 11.2 million. 28% illegally in the country. whether many of these folks, those here illegally should be granted legal status is a dividing line. newt gingrich says yes. does it matter if someone who crossed illegally has been here 20 days or 20 years, no the to

joe arpaio, a national lightning rod in the immigration debate and as of today, a support of governor rick perry. >> what difference does it make? if you're here illegally, you're here illegally. if you don't like it, have the congress or someone in the states change the law, that's all. >> you first reflex is to assume tough talk like that would carry the day in today's republican party. john mccain's talk of a path to citizenship nearly derailed his bid four years ago and the party moved more to the right in the tea party sweep of 2010. is there more of a shift back toward the middle on immigration among the leading republican contenders? on capitol hill tonight, republican congressman brian bilbray of california, and in st. louis, dana loesch. >> congressman, if you have newt gingrich who has gone from nowhere to the top of the national polls saying, not citizenship but legal status for those who broke the law when

they first enters country but anytime since then law abide, perhaps they have children, perhaps paying taxes in america, they should have a process to stay, do you consider that amnesty? >> i do. and i do because i was born and raised on the border. there were two houses between my childhood home and the border. i'm one of future that sees what happens from the boarder when people from georgia ortega-hernandor somewhere else count to understand to go to latin america talk to people consider here coming here illeg illegally, talking about amnesty is about as logical as somebody saying, let's drill a hole in the bottom of a boat to let the water out. you're going to cause a whole new wave of illegal immigration. by sending the wrong signals around the world and not taking care of the real source of the problem, illegal employers. the employs are create illegal workers. >> dana loesch, to you on this one, if congressman's position

is that of grassroots conservatives how did newt gingrich go from zero to the top of the national pack when he's been very consistent in explaining his views on this issue and not backing down? >> i think, number one, because he's not mitt romney. number two, he hasn't had any gaffes. number three, immigration, while it is a huge wedge issue amongst many conservatives i don't think ultimately, and a lot of them may get upset, but look at reagan. ronald reagan was the amnesty president. ronald reagan not only supported and signed a bill into law which granted 3 million illegal immigrants amnesty in the united states, but he was enthusiastically supportive of it. by our standards of today, reagan wouldn't have a shot. talk about mccain and the comment his made about a path to citizenship, there were many issues derailing john mccain, least of which was immigration. but ultimately, i think immigration isn't going to be as high up on the list as compared

to the some of the other financial concerns. and gingrich, his position on what some would call amnesty, i disagree with what many positions in the whole -- under the amnesty umbrella or the immigration umbrella. for instance, evaluating on a case by case basis 11 million individuals and having a hearing, i guess, determining how long they've been here what ties they have to the community. i mean that's something to dispute. he hasn't gone as far as mccain has, though. >> congressman bilbray, you have speecher gen eer gingrich at t the polls, distant second in new hampshire, ahead in south carolina, he has his position which you call amnesty. governor perry says no amnesty. listen to him here, then i'll fill in some of the blanks. >> amnesty is not on the table, period. there will be no amnesty in the united states. we're a country of law and the idea that we're going to tell people somehow or another, you

know, that's all forgiven is not going to happen. >> he says that's not going to happen. he say his would deport anyone who is brought into custody any way, shape or form who is here illegally would get immediately deported he has not said you'd round up the rest of the law-abiding folk. those currently law abeadsing, you have mr. romney, the republican front-runner if it's not gingrich, who says he's not for amnesty, but if you go back a few years he had the position the saipe as newt gingrich's position now. if those three candidates are among the leading candidates for your party's nomination, is it inevitable that you'll have a nominee you'll disagree with? >> no, it's not. ronald reagan recognized that amnesty could be used once. if you use it more than once, your credibility of enforcing your laws is lost. the fact is when perry talks about anybody illegal should be sent out of the country, this is a governor who signed a bill that says if you're illegally in

the state of texas, you get college grants. you actually get subsidized to go to school to get a job that's illegal in the country. perry's kind of trying to cover himself on this one. look, newt goes a lot of different ways, he's a personal friend, a great guy to work on. but the fab is you have to look at the fact what you're talking about is not what you may want to do sometime in the future but sending a signal around the world that the candidate for president or -- or worst the president himself has announced that if you break the law, come into the country illegal if you risk your life and be one of those 600 who die along the border trying to come into a country illegally, we will reward you if you come in here. this is a concept that looks like it's compassion but this is leak opening a candy store in the middle of a freeway. children being killed on the road, you say i don't understand how this happened. everyone who is given a job and any elected official announcing to the world that washington and the federal government is going

to reward illegal immigration are part and parcel to the problem of sending a clear and defining message. gingrich will say our problem is we sent mixed messages in the past that these enticed people here. i don't care who you are. quit sending the mixed me ee me we'll accommodate you while those waiting patiently to play by the rules waiting come into the country legally. >> dana will be in the program later. we'll watch as this plays out. next, michael jackson's doctor gets the maximum sentence. wait until you hear how quickly he may be out of jail. [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation,

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a judge in california today sent michael jackson's doctor, conrad murray, to jail for four years. that's the maximum sentence allowed for involuntary manslaughter. testimony revealed dr. murray gave jackson propofol nearly every night in the two months before the singer's death in 2009. in dismissing pleas for leniency today the judge told murray he'd become part of a, quote, cycle of horrible medicine. >> experimental medicine is not going to be tolerated and mr. jackson was an experiment. the fact that he participated in it does not excuse or lessen the blame of dr. murray who simply could have walked away and said

no as countless others did. >> with us now, jim moret, diane dimond, and cnn senior analyst jeffrey toobin. hardly a guarantee conrad murray will spend anywhere near that amount of time in prison, right? >> in california, there's a guarantee he won't because of a recent court ruling dealing with overcrowding in prisons here in california. he can't be sent to state prison, he's going to be sent to county jail and it's likely that he'll serve months instead of four years. and i think we even heard from the judge he was frustrated from that because the judge is mindful of the obligation of the sheriff's department to clear out the overcrowding situation. giving him four years was most he could do but conrad murray will serve at most two, most likely just a matter of months. >> jim makes the point you could hear the judge's frustration, sense his frustration. a lot of people out there, if

they believe conrad murray killed michael jackson will think you get four years, only four years, and in the end less than that? >> i had a similar reaction to the trial. i thought, why bother? michael jackson had addiction problems he was a troubled person obviously. but the evidence in this case was appalling. not only did murray give him propofol at a time in an way that no one should get propofol, he then lied to the emts about it, and he knew he was doing wrong and the horror of how michael jackson died is really intense, and you can see why people are frustrated that it's going to be months, not years in prison for him. >> one of the things that angers the judge, not just the testimony, not what he heard in the courtroom, but what he saw from dr. murray outside the courtroom, including this appearance on the "today" show at a time he is awaiting sentencing. listen. >> i don't feel guilty because i did not do anything wrong. i'm very, very sorry for the

loss of michael. michael is a personal friend. it's heart felt, it's been painful. >> the judge didn't take too kindly to that. i'm not sure it was the best strategy on mr. murray's part. >> i have a feeling that when conrad murray lays his head down on the pillow in the jail, soon he's going to realize it was his own arrogant behavior that got him to this place. i have a piece going up on the daily beast about this in a few minutes, that not only did he tape record his patient, his famous patient in a terrible state, which the judge said he was outraged about, but he goes on television and shows no remorse. he talks about, i'm not guilty of anything, i think that michael jackson set me up and at that point the judge, today, leans forward and says, yips, talk about blaming the victim. it was conrad murray's own arrogance, i think, that made it certain that he was going to get four years, never probation, and

certainly not just one year from this judge. >> we have that sound. you mentions the judge's reaction in the courtroom. let's play it and let our viewers see it. >> and where dr. murray at that point says he feels betrayed and entrapped by michael jackson. yipes! talk about blaming the victim not only isn't there any remorse, there's um bridge and outrage on the part of dr. murray against the desee dent. >> jim moret, help us understand this. i think it's an honest reaction from the judge but it's one of the trials because of the celebrity nature, high profile, one gets the impression the judge knows he's performing, too. >> i really feel that this judge took the high road, because this judge was saying, look, we all have id can kids, parents, we ao to doctors. conrad murray's statement to

police that oh i gave michael jackson this 60 nights and we had no problems, that got him into trouble, too, it was his statements in the beginning and the end. i didn't feel that the judge was speaking to the cameras because there were cameras there, because it was michael jackson. i think he was angry because this is a doctor who violated his sworn oath to his patient. >> there's no anger here, jeff toobin. listen to conrad murray's attorney and it seems pretty clear that, in the end, in the end, he thinks the "today" show and msnbc documentary, maybe not such a good idea. >> i don't think the documentary was helpful, but i don't know that the documentary changed anything that the judge was otherwise going to do. i don't think there was anything that was said today that changed anything the judge was otherwise going to do. i think -- i was not surprised. i think this die was cast a long time ago. >> the dye was cast a long time

ago. ever advise a client to this media, i call it a strategy. >> jerry sandusky, the same situation with his crazy interview with bob costas. i feel weird ace journal, we live our lives trying to get people to talk to us, and sometimes they do and we say, what an idiot. you know, so i -- i recognize that there's some contradiction in how we go about this, but this was a -- this was a case in many respects about celebrity. if he had been a normal patient, first of all he wouldn't have had a private doctor, and then he might have had a doctor who said no. no one ever said no to michael jackson, and people used him, people enabled him, other doctors, his family, and conrad murray was just the last and the worst of them. >> one of the most dramatic pieces of evidence of the trial the voice of michael jackson recorded by dr. murray. let's listen. >> when people leave my show, i

want them to say i've never seen nothing like this in my life. go. go. i've never seen nothing like this. >> diane, the judge took huge offense there, thinking somehow this was an insurance policy by dr. murray, maybe something down the road he would make money off. >> yeah, a lot of us thought that. we never would write it or say it on television, but when the judge said, we feel free to say it. what else would this doctor tape record his patient in such a vulnerable state? did he want to show -- let his girlfriend listen to it or what? i think that this judge, i'm going to disagree with jim i think everybody in california, especially the l.a. area knows when a camera is on and he was very dramatic today for a purpose. but i think, in the end of the day, this judge said something i think is very important. he said, this will not be

tolerated. and it was a message to all of the doctors to which these celebrities go doctor shopping. we're not going to tolerate it anymore. we might not have been successful with the anna nicole smith doctor convictions, those were fatherly minor, but we'll keep at it we'll do it, and it's not going to be allowed. if you're a doctor in l.a. now you better be careful what you're prescribing. >> diane dimond, jim moret, appreciate your insights on this fascinating case. appreciate you coming in. downgrade for the biggest banks and bankruptcy for an iconic airline. or creates another laptop bag, or hires another employee, it's not just good for business. it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities. that's why we extended $13.2 billion to small businesses across the country so far this year.

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welcome back. the latest news you need to know. stocks closed mixed with the dow industrials and s&p ending higher. after the markets closed, standard & poor's announced it reviewed 37 largest banks and downgraded dozens of them. the downgrade list includes bank of america, goldman sachs, morgan stanley, citi group. american airline will keep flying those its parent company declared bankruptcy. joe biden on an aannounced visit in iraq. looting, burning and window breaking brought swipt condemnations from the british, united nations, and president obama. >> all of us, i think are deeply

disturbed by the crashing of the english embassy, the embassy of the united kingdom. that kind of behavior's not acceptable and i strongly urge the iranian government to hole those response to task. >> one eyewitness joins us now on the phone from tehran. take us to the scene of the embassy. what did you see? >> we were with 1,000 students who overpowered the police, 12 got into the embassy, setting the flag on fire and replacing it with an iranian flag instead. and then they went inside and brought out documents and set fire to them. this happened -- i saw this myself. and another xocompound of the

embassy, 200 students, apparently had gone in there, too, and had done the same thing. maybe held about six of the embassy staff at bay until police arrived and went inside and freed them and got the students out. >> when you give that vivid description everybody what did the students say publicly why? >> they planned to do this two, three days ago, they announced it. about they wanted to protest against british foreign policy vis-a-vis iran and condemned britain for aligning itself with -- allying itself with the united states imposing sanctions on iran for its nuclear program. they also accuse britain for a long time of interfering into iran's internal affairs and they wanted to expedite the expulsion

of the british embassy from tehran. >> and you heard president obama there, other international agencies have condemned this, called on the iranian government to hole those responsible accountable. any evidence the iranian government would do such a thing, or is the regime happy this played out? >> well, the man who actually was the author of the bill that was passed by parliament that led to the downgrading, he said that the act by the students symbolized and crystallized what they had against the machinations against the history of the relations between the two countries. but at the same time it said the international rules and regulations would be observed and the foreign ministry issued a statement, a very strong

condemning the actions of the students and breaking the international law and said it would pursue the matter and get the culprits to answer for their actions. at the same time, when the students were leaving the compound of the british embassy, there were 10 or 12 arrested by police. it remains to be seen what they do with them. >> fascinating on the scene reporting for us. thank you for your reporting. we'll stay in touch as this story plays out. herman cain has just released a new statement urging his supporters to help him keep his campaign for the republican his campaign for the republican the employ of the mo ntis... spark card from capital one. spark cash gives me the most rewards of any small business credit card. it's hard for my crew to keep up with 2% cash back on every purchase, every day. 2% cash back. that's setting the bar pretty high. thanks to spark, owning my own business has never been more rewarding. [ male announcer ] introducing spark the small business credit cards from capital one. get more by choosing unlimited double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase, every day.

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"erin burnett outfront" is coming up at the top of the hour. one of post market bad news dose for the nation's top financial institutions, including bank of america, goldman sachs, how big of a deal is this? >> that's right. obviously, getting a downgrade from standard and poor's, the same agency that downgraded the united states in august, john. they changed the criteria by which they were evaluating banks. so this is not a shock, but it still is not good news especially for american borrowers. look at bank of america, the stock plunged this year. this downgrade means they have to put billions of collateral up and that means that could affect their bottom line, could affect their willingness to make loans and the interest rate at which they will make those loans. they are the biggest mortgage provider in the united states. so these stories are not

insignificant. you need strong banks with high ratings in order to have cheap loans. the reason for the downgrade is in part regulation of the united states, but also that exposure to europe, which is so important. i know sometimes it feels so far away but it is important. i will say, john, two banks got upgraded around the world, and both are chinese. >> that speaks volumes about the world we live in at the moment. see you in a few minutes. mitt romney was in miami celebrating the endorsements of three prominent cuban-american political leaders and the nation's immigrant spirit. >> it's just amazing to see how people can come to this country and in many case with nothing, of the dreams and regardless of the circumstances of their birth, where they were born, what education they might have had, how much money they bring with them, they're able to build a future for themselves. >> rick perry picked up a notable endorsement, joe arpaio, who has some issues with texas governor when it comes to immigration policy but still

says he'd be the best for border security. >> he's doing things, he's not talks. all these politicians, candidates, all they do is talk. >> at a later event perry failed a basic civics quiz. >> those 21 by november 12th, i ask for your support and your vote. >> the voting age is 18, next year's election november 6th. that's the law. and the calendar. newt gingrich quoted south carolina conservatives with a not optimistic take on the tone of things to come. >> i mean, obama can't possibly win an election that's fair. the only way he's going to win is so destroy the republican -- the people who decide reluctantly that he's less disgusting than his opponent. so they will run a campaign of astonishing dishonesty. >> herman cain's decision to

reassess the vie ability of his campaign as he denies a georgia woman's claim of a multiyear affair. donna brazile and dana loesch are with us. dana, you first. herman cain in last hour has put out a new statement sent to his supporters around the country. he says this about the woman, ginger white, a georgia businesswom businesswoman, i thought miss white was a friend in need of a supportive hand to better her life. i'm asking for your friendship. i'm asking for your prayers and support. this is a trying time for my family, campaign and me, also a trying time for our country as we're distracted from the truly important issues facing our nation. part of an appeal like this is to say to your supporters, it's not true, part of it is to say i need fund-raising, i need it fast to stay in the race, can he? >> i don't know. i'm surprised if he lasts the week because he's dipping in the polls, he's losing support amongst women especially, and i mean how many more of these can

his campaign weather? this last individual, when politico first broke the story i thought it may have been a hit job that came from the right and continuing to see the stories come out and this woman, ginger white, it's not as though this is a simple he said, she said game. she's got phone records. she not only has not only has p but the report he texted the number of, texted herman cain's number and he called it back. these phone records show they were having conversations at 4:30 in the morning. i want to be generous with the benefit of the doubt but at some point you have to stop and pull back and think what's really going on here? is it really as it seems? >> as dana makes the point, you're watching herman cain. he said he would go forward with this speech on foreign policy but he said he would make a decision in the next several days as to whether he can go forward. one important barometer is whether he can raise money. another is checking with your people in key states, are we bleeding? losing support? i was in south carolina and i

asked the tea party congressman who is very plugged in in the charleston area of the state. >> what is the buzz about herman cain in your state? >> i think the challenges are real. we're seeing a lot of folks trying to second-guess themselves. trying to find a new candidate. i think we may have the newest candidate to my right. >> 35 days to voting in iowa. then new hampshire, then after that comes south carolina. you know what it's like to be in the middle of a campaign when something like this happens. >> first of all, i'm not going to write herman cain's obituary. he is an unconventional candidate and let him write his own if it is the end of his campaign. this is going to be a november to remember for herman cain. dana is absolutely right. herman cain will probably have to find new money, new supporters and a new reason why he is going to continue to stay in the race. he has not been the candidate of new ideas. he really hasn't caught fire in

materials of the organizational strength you need. i doubt very seriously that he can stay in the race for a long time. but mrs. cain is probably the only person tonight who knows exactly how to dial that number and say it's time to pack it up and go. >> gingrich been at this time the most in your view? >> absolutely. he is on the rise and there is no reason to suspect he won't benefit from herman cain if he decides to drop out. >> does this hurt romney the most under the theory that he needs two or three people to his right? sh absolutely. it elevates a nonromney and i think cain might lose some supporters to maybe gingrich over this. we'll see. >> and we'll watch herman cain saying he will make a decision. watch what they say about fundraising in the next 28 to 48 hours. the next truth invites a great lunch and a very important lesson.

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tonight's truth is a simple but for me an absolutely critical less on that. especially as the presidential race kicks into high gear. you can't begin to understand the political climate unless you hit the road. our trip to south carolina was a case in point of the perils of spending too much time in washington. here we worry too much about which candidate is up or down from day to day. sure, sometime that's fun and sometimes, yes, it's important. and newsworthy. but hitting the road gets you more than a good meal. a lunch time chat at a place like charleston's california

dreaming reminds you, the voters they often have much more profound worries. >> optimistic? >> very optimistic. very optimistic. still a little nervous. charleston to me is a little bit different. we're kind of in a bubble compared to other cities. we have the tourism industry to fall back on and then the defense industry, which is very strong here. >> what's your sense? this holiday season versus last holiday season? >> well, i'm in the car wash business also as well as being in the laundry business. and the car wash business is down. our walk-in traffic and our self-storage is all down. and i don't know if it is going to get any better as the way that it is right now. >> so people are still holding that money. >> they're still holding that money. no doubt about it. >> that's an important point. people still holding their money. even the more optimistic. she added a caveat. she works in the hotel business

and said tourists are coming to charleston but they're spending less money or staying fewer days. she thinks better infrastructure is one way to help over the long term. ralph says it's critical, critical that the country get help with energy costs. >> i would like to see something done with the fuel, the energy. i think that is what is hurting this area drastically. >> do you see adult conversations? or do you see a daycare center when you look at washington? >> daycare. i'm sorry. this is a fishing community. there is so much to the tourism is based on the fishing industry. the people come here to fish. the boats can't afford the fuel. a boat like mine, 12 to $1,300 a day just for fuel to go offshore fishing. >> unemployment in south carolina is above 10%. that means above the national average, and the collapse of the super committee talks in washington raises the prospect of automatic and punishing

defense cuts. >> to protect your community, what do you have to do? the president says if you play with those numbers, he would veto it. >> i think he should. supplementals, anyway you try to avoid that lacks character. the only thing we can do is do what we said we were going to do. we have another several months to get this thing done. if we do not find the cuts we must have see questation period. >> good questions for the candidates. maybe skip asking about the new poll or the new ad, and press on how much he or she plans to cut from the pentagon budget. what's your energy policy and why can't democrats and republicans end a silly partisan stand-off over critical spending on roads and bridges? we're off to iowa and new hampshire soon. i promise you that. and here's betting the conversation there's will be at least a little different. our country is a complicated 50-piece puzzle. what drives politics in charleston might not be as important to folks in des moines. but truth is, there is only one way to fiend