patti ann browne standing by from new york, much more about herman cain's expected announcement, coming up shortly. will he stay in or will he go. we'll wait to see the answer. stay with us, everybody, our continuing coverage comes to you now from new york. have a great day. >> fox news alert. is he in or out? it's decision day for republican presidential hopeful herman cain, cain is expected to make a major announcement from his new campaign headquarters in atlanta. hello, everyone, i'm kelly wright and welcome to a brand new hour of america's news headquarters. >> and i'm patti ann browne. the about suspense is building in atlanta this hour. herman cain is expected to announce whether he's dropping out of the race or staying in it to win the republican nomination is. >> kelly: his campaign is reeling from sex scandals, allegations he had a 13-year affair starting while he was president of the national restaurant association, but right now, it's all about

blues, barbecue and that big announcement that people are anticipating. our john roberts is live in atlanta, georgia where herman cain just arrived. john, it's quite a day down there. >> and it certainly is, kelly. it's a festive atmosphere, almost one of celebration. they have h they've updated the blues and health care is expected to come out after a meeting with military veterans whether or not he's going to continue his campaign. we after the last few days he's been consulting with a number of people and his financial donors, some of his political rivals, as well strategists and members of his families, whether or not the campaign is a, viable, whether or not it would put too much strain on his family to continue the campaign with the low drip, drip, drip of allegations from all of these women who have been coming out, accusing him of improper relationships. of course, the most recent. ginger white who came out earlier this week to claim that she's had a 13-year long

affair with herman cain. i talked to the investigative reporter who broke that story a little while ago and said that ginger white is prepared to come out with more evidence of that affair. so, we'll see where he goes with that. we'll also be telling to he see and i didn't see arrival, whether or not his wife ginger cain is with him. and the two met face-to-face since the ginger white affair, news of that first surfaced. and whether it may put too much strain on the the family. herman cain says obviously he wants to run for president and this nomination, but that family comes first and that's the way it is with so many candidates, but i'll tell you, on the surface of this, kelly and patti ann, to look at the scenario here, the atmosphere does not suggest that he's going to come out and end his campaign. you could paint a scenario under which he has all of these supporters out in front of him and he says thank you very much for your support, however, because of this, i can no longer continue.

in that way he goes out on a high point as opposed to some of the other campaigns that have ended with a somber press conference in a dingy ballroom in a hotel somewhere. >> kelly: and he's been married to his wife gloria cain for 43 years and standing by his sides regardless of the allegations from ginger cain and other people who have come out with lured allegations of sexual harassment. and the republican party is saying no matter what, herman cain should stick a fork in it, that he's done? >> reporter: yeah, and one of the most recent is representative steve king from iowa who came out a little while ago to say, virtues or not. whether he's in, whether he's out. whatever you think of herman cain, his campaign is effectively over. if you look at the new poll numbers in the des moines register, only a month to go until the important iowa caucuses, he's trending down faster than a meteorite in the

atmosphere. he ended up the at 4% for four day average of just 8% and don't forget he was at 23% not too long ago, he so, his campaign fortunes certainly in iowa are falling like a rock. and john when you think about it, how long has it been since we've heard about herman cain's famous 9-9-9 plan and watching them prior to coming on air with you, there were some who actually went to the podium saying we've got to fight for herman cain, to fight for this nation. what do you say about the crowd that's there? obviously, they're supporting him. >> well, kelly, that's the interesting thing about this event is this has all the appearances of a regular campaign event and this event was called, to herald the opening of his new atlanta headquarters. we have no idea at this point how long the headquarters are going to be open. but you almost think that if he were to come out and say he was suspending his campaign, that it would be cruel and unusual punishment toward all of the supporters who have come out here to voice their affection for herman cain, and

for the campaign staffers who worked until four o'clock in the morning this morning, to get this place ready to go. so, you know, it does speak to some communications discipline among the herman cain campaign that none of this has gotten out so far, and despite our best efforts to try to plumb the depths of everyone we know to get some insight what he's going to say. >> right, you are, john, you've been there all morning long, following the details and keeping us updated when you anticipate herman cain might be speaking, we're going to be standing by, waiting for your word and of course, as soon as herman cain steps to this podium, you and the rest of the nation and all of us here the at fox will be watching it live. >> well, stay tuned, kelly, it should be be the next few minutes and also watch to see if gloria cain is with him on the stage, that would be very interesting scenario here. >> kelly: john roberts, reporting live. didn't mean to interrupt there, but we have to move on, and see you later in the

broadcast. >> it should be any moment that herman cain will make his announcement one way or the other. in the meantime let's try to read those tea leaves, we have angela mcglowan, a fox news political analyst, and jehmu green of the former of the women's media center and thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having us. >> you heard john roberts, the mood there at the atlanta headquarters where he was already due to unveil this new headquarters and now they've billed it as a major announcement. these people there are in what they describe as a festive mood, a defiant mood. they're out there taking the podium saying we're going to fight for him and want him to be our next president. if he turns around, and does announce which he might. angela is this a betrayal to his staff and supporters. >> it's not a betrayal to his staff and supporters, that's how politics work, sometimes good days, bad days and people are dedicated to the cause. so if herman cain announces that he's stepping down, this

would help newt gingrich. rick perry was the poster child for the conservative movement and herman cain is, might be, and if he drops out, newt gingrich will take that support. >> jehmu, that's the question. if he drops out, who gets the votes who might or wise have gone to cain. what say you? >> i agree absolutely, newt gingrich has a much better chance of taking those votes because no one has seen mitt romney be able to actually appeal to social conservatives in this entire republican primary, so, they've been bouncing from cain, to gingrich, to bachmann and they will probably go now back to gingrich, but, as i look at the scene down there in atlanta, i can only, you know, remember actually herman cain's announcement. when he first came out and there were like 15,000 people at his announcement and at the time, in comparison so some of

the other men and women on that stage, he had more passionate supporters and more excitement in his announcement than we'd seen from romney or later from pawlenty and it just is a sign of, you know, how far these come as a country, as we've watched this candidate transition, but clearly, from his supporter base, they have he' stayed there. he they started off passionate and they are passionate, but i think the rest of the country is looking at this and saying that he, he has no chance and it's time for him to-- >> well, jehmu, he might mott have a chan -- might not have a chance, but we're not psychic, this is a campaign laboring like we've never seen before. rick perry was down and newt gingrich was down. and the bottom line, i do not think that herman cain is going to say today, i bow out gracefully. i think herman cain is going to fight to the end because

that's who he is. >> you know, jehmu, there were accusations that it was democrats who were pub sizing the rumors to bring down the campaign and some bob beckel, saying that's crazy, the democrats want cain to be the nom he knee to run against obama. if anything it will be fellow republicans who want to tear down cain because they don't believe he could beat obama. >> and he lost them at recognizance rick perry's campaign and trying to tie it to mitt romney's campaign and that's a sign of how many confusing messages we've seen throughout the scandal and i know we're not psychic, but that's one prediction i'm willing to make that herman cain will not only be the president, he's not going to be the republican nominee. >> but patti ann, to go to your point dealing with who came out with the scandal and why it came out, i think

jehmu, that barack obama would have a challenge going against herman cain, a southern black man who pulled himself up by his boot straps, a businessman, a heck of a race if you had herman cain against president obama. >> you know, jehmu, some people are saying if he does step down today it wouldn't be just because of the sex scandal. we've seen some foreign policy gaffes, some people saying that the better you would get to know him, the more his poll numbers would drop anyway. is it inevitable, if not today, that's going to drop out or will he stay in until the bitter end? we'll know soon, i guess. >> well, patti ann, i think there's been lots of talk how separate from the sexual harassment allegations and now this affair revelation, that you know, herman cain was basically on a glorified book tour and he was continuing to make paid speeches and his schedule was not anywhere near

tied to the republican primary process and it was more tied to media markets for book sales. so, that conversation was a part of how political opper tiffs and there wasn't substance there. >> jehmu, we can put emphasis on the book campaign or some would say fox news, but you have right wing conservatives who like this man and you've heard people say in tennessee, in the state of mississippi,s' a candidate from god and they believe in him. so we might say he was on a book tour, might say he wants a television career, but he still brings the people out to support him. >> let me ask you this, ange angela, one thing we can agree on. this mess is a distraction at a time when our economy can't afford it, when congress is unable to move forward and we

do need to be having this conversation with whoever the republican nominee will be, and herman cain has been an utter distraction, that's just a hot mess? >> the hot mess has been dealing with the sexual allegations, but when you have folks living from paycheck to paycheck, when you have people losing their jobs, i don't think they care about sexual harassment or an affair. they want someone who will create a better america, and people believe that herman cain can still do it. >> well, we're going to ask you both to hang on, we are going to come back to you and get reaction when we actually have herman cain's announcement, which, folks, stay tuned, is going to be any minute now. so, stick around, angela mcglowan and jehmu green, we'll get back to you shortly. >> kelly: the ladies were interesting in their comments and we'll bring in byron york. a chief correspondent for the washington examiner and a fox news contributor. byron, as we've heard angela and jehmu discuss the future of herman cain and when he may

step to the podium at the new headquarters in atlanta, we will obviously look forward to see what's going to happen. i'm getting word right now byron, there are reports that herman cain contacted some of the other republican presidential hopefuls. what do you think he was saying to them this morning when he called them? >> well, there's been a lot of speculation about if cain were to pull out, who would get his support. most speculation is focused on newt gingrich and think back to the so-called lincoln douglas debate they did a few weeks ago and even at that time, there was a sense that cain might be losing altitude and gingrich knew quite well that being seen as friendly to herman cain, nice to herman cain, and would help newt gingrich, if herman cain were to slip. so, there's been a whole lot of speculation about that. and we should point out that herman cain's loss of altitude began before these allegations came out and has probably paid a bigger role in his fall than the allegations of sexual harassment or sexual

misconduct. and scott rasmussen published a new poll today and he asked people, what's more important to you, the allegations against cain or the fact that he's had difficulty answering foreign policy questions? 43% said the allegations, 45% said the foreign policy questions. so, it's about split. people have been disturbed by that. john roberts mentioned steve king, the representative from iowa saying something essentially pronouncing the campaign dead. i've spoken to cain about this and he was concerned about this for quite a while. there was a real problem with the cain campaign before any of these allegations came out. >> now, byron, to your point earlier today on fox news, mike huckabee who will be having a forum with some of the candidates, he talked about this very issue. he says he knows herman cain and he likes him and a very good guy. once he announced he was reassessing his campaign, that was a sign to the american people that perhaps his campaign was over, because some of the american people

liked him and saying once you're reassessing it you're not going forward. michele bachmann didn't she do the same thing, albeit, under different circumstances? >> yeah, not completely under fire like this. i mean, this is, i think by everybody's agreement, this is a very odd situation in the sense that cain, who has gotten a whole lot of money, contributions, even since these allegations began, is opening up this new headquarters in the atlanta area, and do you think, do you have a big grand opening for your headquarters to come out and say, okay, i'm out. everybody go home, it's all over? it's a very odd situation, that he's in right now. >> you know, byron, i can't recall anytime in our political, recent political history that we've seen anything like this. what do you make of all of this? how could you characterize it? >> well, we've had allegations against candidates before and we've certainly had, he said-she said situations before, but this started out, these sex harassment allegations specifically started out in a really odd way in the sense that they began with two unspecified

allegations from two unnamed people. and cain was in front of reporters who were demanding that he answer these unspecified allegations from unnamed accusers. and it was a very odd situation, and as a matter of fact, going back to those original two accusers, one, we've learned the number of one of them, but neither one has come out publicly and said, he did a, he did b, he did c. he never had a chance to face his accusers and people never have a chance to evaluate their story versus cain's story. >> kelly: question, should he announce he's going to stay in, what will he have to do to pull himself up from the trenches that he's now in? >> that's, that could involve-- that's way above my-- >> he could move forward with this? >> he could and i got back from south carolina last night and some people told me i

don't believing the allegations against herman cain and i'm for him. and the fact is he's fallen a lot. and a new poll that's coming out tonight is going to show him at 8%, and they took that poll over the course of several days, i think, wednesday through-- sunday through wednesday and he was at 12% on the first day of the poll and 4% on the last day of the the poll, indicating that he was going down each day. the sex harassment allegations did not hurt him a lot with his core supporters. it was finally the emergence of ginger white, the woman who told the atlanta tv station that she'd had an on and off affair with cain for 13 years, it was that allegation that seemed to have just put, you know, punched a hole in the the balloon. >> it's a precipitous fall from grace right now, if he steps to that podium and his wife gloria of 43 years standing at his side, what might that say, should he announce he's going to stay in? do you think the american people who have such a willingness to forgive and

move on and move forward, would that bring him some grace and perhaps a chance to actually enter into this campaign more competitively? >> well, i think the facts of the case were going to matter. clearly, if mrs. cain shows up today and she has not taken a public role in this campaign virtually at all. she was at one event in iowa and she's done one interview with gretta van susteren and that's it. she's been an invisible presence in the campaign. so, if she comes out, that will certainly show that she's on board for this. and on the other hand, it's going to be extremely hard to rebuild some of that support that he had for, and you have to remember the sex harassment allegations, i don't know where they're going, they may go nowhere, but we certainly haven't learned a lot about the actual substantial of them. as far as the women are concerned, there's always the question, is there somebody else who is going to come out with the the story and will ginger white come out with actual proof of the affair,

she showed she had. she had phone and text records that tended to support the story and did she have more evidence, is there more stuff out there. if cain stays in, those questions are going to be asked. >> and to your point we heard from john roberts there are reports she may be coming out with more details. and do me a favor, we're going to stay with this and monitor what's happening right there, people are looking at, to the left of their screen, what's going on in atlanta as we await herman cain. and right now, we're going to bring more people, and patti ann. >> yeah, we're going to the the other side, now. joining us now is a south carolina democratic party chair, thank you for joining us, dick. >> thank you. >> following up on the point that byron and kelly were making, gloria cain, there's a report in the daily beast, citing unnamed sources take that with what you will, but the sources are telling the daily beast that gloria cain

wants her husband to leave the race and angry that her life has been turned upside down by her husband's need for attention and power. what do you think is really going on behind the scenes with gloria and herman? >> i've talked to republican friends of mine, i have republican friends, believe it or not. >> what? >> a small state we have to get along. and told me that herman cain is announce he's suspending his campaign and he's going to stay in and go around the country, he's going to take his name off the ballot, but he is going to stin this campaign for 9-9-9 and the things he believes in. so this would represent a compromise, i suppose for his wife, not going to run for president, but continue to carry the message and why he's opening the headquarters and going to continue to talk about his message or maybe sell books, i don't know. but this is a very weird, weird development based on what i was told this morning. >> well, yeah, people are really characterizing it as

bizarre. right now, we're seeing a parade of people going up to that podium at this unveiling of the new headquarters in atlanta expressing support for herman cain and their defiance of the accusations and the critics and what not. but at the same time, this announcement from mr. cain was supposed to come at ten this morning, it's now after one in the afternoon, and we're not seeing him yet. is it possible that he is still going back and forth? >> again, the folks i talked to this morning indicated that he wanted to stay in the race, his wife apparently has put her foot down and so this is a compromise, where he will continue to carry his message around, but not be on the ballot and maybe they're in the back arguing right now. i don't know. but. >> all right. >> i tell you in the south, you don't do what he did to his wife and go anywhere other than home every night. >> okay, dick, we want to -- okay, we're going to continue with you and again, remind

people we're waiting for that announcement and we've got some high profile folks approaching that podium to speak in support of herman cain. interesting development yesterday, launching of a website, women for herman cain, which they say that it is run by his wife gloria, and you have women coming on there, and particularly, addressing mrs. cain, saying that these women who are criticizing him, don't pay attention to these pathetic husbandless women who are jealous of women like you in long, happy marriages, they're just jealous and et cetera. what do you make of this, the starting of a website like this, with gloria cain's name behind it? >> again, i think behind the curtain there's all kinds of things going on and i'm not sure, she signed on for that. i'm not sure that this is genuine and more importantly, why do we want to go through the political equivalent of the kardashian marriage,

keeping up with the kardashians? this has become a reality show. the whole republican primary process has become some sort of beverly hills, house wives knockoff. it's the most bizarre thing i've ever seen. >> now, one of the questions is, you know, herman cain at this point has been accused of infidelity. newt gingrich has flat-out admitted it and yet, gingrich is surging in the polls and this has really destroyed cain. is it all about the handling of it? >> well, i think it's part of that, but remember now, newt gingrich cheated on his wife who was in the hospital with cancer, and so, now, we had this infidelity once. cain has cheated on his wife and then cheated on the woman that he was cheating on his wife with and cheating times three, you can't survive. >> jamie: allegedly, allegedly. >> allegedly. >> dick, we want you to hang on and we have the or contributors hanging on and we want to go live to atlanta

where john robert is standing by. >> the united states of america is-- we're waiting here for herman cain to take the stage, just a little bit about-- shouldn't be five minutes or so. it should be, should be the next few minutes, we know that his wife gloria is here, it will be interesting to see if she is at his side when he comes out, and the type of united front that they present here and whatever announcement it is he's going to make. if he is to try to survive to carry through to the iowa caucuses he's certainly going to have to present to the country that there is a strong bond between himself and his wife gloria, one that's lasted more than four decades and under attack for at least five women who have come out to level accusations against him. there's the personal side of that story and his donations are down and support is beginning to wane, not as many people at the campaign events

signing up to be volunteers and look at devastating numbers from the des moines register poll, you have to wonder whether or not he can make it over the next few weeks and whether it's worth it to try to go into the iowa caucuses and make any kind of a dent and then of course, the long trail after that, likely he wouldn't do much in new hampshire, south carolina certainly would be his-- as a conservative. he can do well there. when your numbers are, the last time they measured it in the des moines register poll, only 4% in iowa and trending down from 23%, that doesn't speak to a very viable campaign in anyone's political strategy. >> kelly: and you know, herman cain of course, recorded-- i'm reminded of a song "i'm going up the rough side of the mountain" if he were to choose to stay in, he would be going up the rough side of the mount. i noticed alvita king, the niece of martin luther king, jr. was at the podium

speaking. do you think what she said moments ago? >> voicing support for herman cain and telling the story of herman cain, how he really does embody the american dream. how he pulled himself up from nothing, how he survived stage four colon cancer to go on to become a candidate for president. the story of herman cain is also fraught with the potential dark side here that we've seen coming out. you talk about going up the rough side of the mountain, that's one thing. but going up the rough side of the mountain in the middle of a landslide. and it looks like that's where he is with his campaign right now. >> a good point. we notice that he was expected to speak at one point and at one particular time and he's running apparently late or do you think he's getting back on to his original schedule, perhaps speaking at 1:30, about four minutes from now? >> yeah, initially we had heard 1:30 and then they moved it up to say it could be as early as 12:30. we heard that he left his home and perhaps stopped somewhere, but seems that they're on with

the original schedule. we're expecting right after this colonel exits the stage that we'll probably hear from herman cain. everybody is on the edge of their seats wondering what he's going to do here, stating various scenarios, does he stay in, does he take a pause, reassess some more only with solidarity of his wife at his side or the use the moment with all of the supporters out here to say he's suspending his campaign and doing it -- rather than so many other campaigns ended, a subtly called press conference in a hotel ballroom somewhere, if he does it when the supporters try to cheer him on, it might be a way to rest he be rekt his ramptation to some degree. if he suspends the campaign and wants to go on to other things, he does it triumphant as oppose today shrinking away in the dark of night. >> kelly: and patti ann and i found it interesting he called his presidential colleagues to talk to them this morning and michele bachmann basically

stating that she would not divulge the essence of that conversation, but what do you think about the fact that he's called them already, he won't be appeared for the mike huckabee forum tonight and that suggests, as huckabee said, he may not be announcing that he's going to stay in this to run. >> yeah, and it also, he's canceled a big dinner he was supposed to have tomorrow night this new york city with a group of prominent journalists, you could read the tea leaves, kelly. he stays in, takes a pause or gets out. and really it's difficult to know. >> kelly: and talking to me-- sorry to interrupt, looking at the cain bus that just pulled up and there he is, he's coming up right now and walking with his wife gloria, jo jo john. >> reporter: yeah, we didn't know whether or not she was going to attend and that's a very important sign because this is the first time that she's appeared with him during

this whole thing and you have to think that, are the two of them trying to present this united front and it may be necessary for herman cain to continue on with his campaign or are they going to present a united front here, as herman cain says he is suspending his campaign? i was just about to say and dana perino tweeted earlier today that his campaign has shown remarkable communication discipline and none of this has leaked out to anyone. believe me, we were trying hard to get the information. >> kelly: and they're holding hands. a marriage of 43 years weathered the test of time and rearing some beautiful children who stepped up to be successful on he's stepping up to the podium right now, john. >> let's listen to what he has to say, kelly. ♪ . >> thank you.

♪ ♪ i am america (cheers) >> well, you all are great! >> >> thank you, thank you, thank you. i love you all, too. . [crowd chanting] >> well, let me first say that as usual, the cain

suppo supporters are not warm weather supporters. and i can't thank all of you enough for what you've done and how far we have come and the things that we have done. the things that we have been able to achieve. you know, i chose to run for president because the politicians in washington d.c. wouldn't do their job. that's why i chose to run. they have failed to provide economic growth.

they have failed to get spending under control. they have failed to make us less dependent on foreign oil. these are some of the reasons that inspired me to run for president. and if you look, if you look at the last four years, we've seen that same kind of failure. it's just that the mess has just gotten bigger. you are frustrated. i was frustrated. millions of other people were frustrated. and it was out of that frustration that i made the decision to run because the

people in washington d.c. are either playing the blame game or pointing fingers, or throwing crumbs to the american people. rather than bold solutions to fix the problem. america deserves more than th that. (cheer (cheers) >> and since the politicians have continued to fail i decided to run for president and you all responded, as you are responding now. and i thank you, and i am honored by the deep support of so many people across this country because it expresses the frustration of so many people across this country. now, when i made the decision

to run, i didn't fit the usual description of somebody that ought to be running for president. president. (cheers). i had, i had never held public office before. i didn't have high name i.d., but right now my name i.d. is probably 99.9. and i didn't have a bagillion dollars. what we learned was that the voice of the people is more

powerful than the voice of the media. (cheers) and secondly, we have learned that message is more powerful than money. and you know, we've proved something else, you see, i grew up in a world of segregated water fountains. my father was a chauffeur, my mother was a maid and we showed that you didn't have to have a degree from harvard in order to run for president. (cheers) >> we showed that you didn't have to have a political pedigree to run for president. and one of the biggest things

that we have showed-- have shown is that we, the people, are still in charge of this country. (cheer (cheers). and so today, we're one month away from the iowa caucuses. with over 300 million americans in our nation, we stand here, i stand here because of you. and if you look at the top three republican candidates right now, and you consider a president in the white house, we can say, i'm in the final four. (cheer (cheers). we're in the final four.

and when you think of where i came from on pellham street and fifth ward right here in atlanta and now to be in the final four for the presidency, this is a great nation! >> that's why this nation is so great and i tell you what, it's a powerful and humbling position to be in. proving this, that we could do this, was one of the the greatest things, one of the greatest gifts that you and i could give to this country. i've often said, one of america's greatest friends is,

its ability to change. and we have created some significant change on this journey so far. i am proof of that, and you are proof of that. because i am proof that a common man could lead this nation. because i consider myself one of you. not one of the political elite. i'm one of you. our nation is tired of hearing the politicians blame each other, it's time for solutions. solutions. but as false accusations about me continue, they have sidetracked and distracted my

ability to present solutions to the american people. now, i have made many mistakes in life, everybody has. i've made mistakes professionally, personally, as a candidate in terms of how i run my campaign, and i take responsibility for the mistakes that i've made. and i have been the very first to hold up to any mistakes that i have made. even if the political elite don't think i handled it exactly the way the political elite handled it, i handled it my way because that's the type of person that i am. but because of these false and untrue accusations, it has

paid and had a tremendous painful price on my family. these false and untrue allegations continue to be spined in the media and in the court of public opinion so as to create a cloud of doubt over me and this campaign, and my family. that spin hurts, it hurts my wife. it hurts my family. it hurts me. and it hurts the american people because you have been denied solutions to our problems.

. [crowd chanting] now, here is why it hurts. because my wife, my family, and i, we know that those false and untrue allegations are not the true. and so one of the first declarations that i want to make today is that i am at peace with my god.

(cheers). i am at peace with my wife. and she is at peace with me. (cheer (cheers). . >> gloria, gloria, gloria! >> and i am at peace with my family and i'm at peace with myself, with one of the most important things. now, that being said, becoming president was plan a. and before you get discouraged, today i want to describe plan b. so, as of today, with a lot of prayer and soul searching, i

am suspending my presidential campai campaign. i am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distraction, the continued hurt caused on me and my family, not because we're not fighters, not because i'm not a fighter, it's just that when i went through this reassessment of the impact on my family first, the impact on you, my supporters, your support has

been unwavering and undying, as well as the impact on the ability to continue to raise the necessary funds to be competiti competitive, we had to come to this conclusion. but we had to come to this conclusion that it would be best to suspend this campaign. that's the bad news. here is the good news, the pundits would like for me to shut up, drop out, and go away. well, as my grandmother, who lived to be 104 years old used to say, when somebody was dead wrong, bless their little

hearts. i am not going to be silenced and i'm not going away! >> and therefore, as of today, plan b. plan b, and i call it the cain solution.com. let me explain why. you see, there are three audiences out there, folks that we have dealt with that i have had to deal with. there's the media class, there's the political class, and there's we, the people.

it is we the people that got us to this point, this far. it is we the people, that wants change in washington d.c. it is we the people that are responsible for this massive movement that's going on across this country. i call it the citizen's movement. the tea party movement, the conservative movement, it is a movement by we, the people that are going to insist on change in the united states of america, and plan b is that i will continue to be a voice for the people. and that's why today, we're launching the cain solutions.com, where, the people will choose, not the media, not the politicians, and the people will show that the people are still in charge of this country. through this new organization.

i will still be promoting the biggest change and transfer of power out of washington d.c., back to the people since this nationen began and that is the 9-9-9 plan. it's not going away. i will still be actively supporting and promoting, a foreign policy that starts with peace through strength and clarity. i will still be promoting actively an energy independence plan for america. we can and we will become energy independent. now, i know that many of you are disappointed, i understand that. i know that many of you all

disappointed and i certainly understand this and i am disappointed that it came to this point, that we had to make this decision. the one the of the reasons that i ran for president of the united states was such that i could change washington d.c. from the inside. plan b is that we're going to have to change it from the outside. it will take a little longer, we're going to have to work a little harder, but we will change it from the outside. and one other thing, i will be making an endorsement in the near future. i will be making an endorsement and i can tell you

right now, it will not be the current occupant of the white house. that will not be my endorsement. america has learned something about this process of running for president. it's a dirty game. it's a dirty, dirty game, but i happen to believe that the american people are sick of this mess and if i'm not the outsider to get there, i happen to believe that the day will come when the american people will reject all of the distractions, all of the false accusations and untrue accusations and make a change because that's what we've got to do to get real change in this country and get it on the

right track. and as i think about my parents who raised my brother and i right here in the atlanta area, and they told us three very valuable lessons. that you share. belief in god, belief in ourselves. and belief in the greatest country in the world, the united states of america. and even though i have had to suspend my campaign, i have not given up on america. i have not given up on the united states of america and here is why. because look at our history. when we have been challenged the most. it's when we, the people have risen to the occasion the most. and i happen to believe that we will do it again because we, the people, are still in

charge of this country. let me leave you with this. and i believe these words came from the pokemon movie, the media pointed that out. i'm not sure who the original author is so don't go writing an article about the poem, but it says a lot about where i am, where i am with my wife and my family and where we are, as a nation. life can be a challenge. life can seem impossible. it's never easy when there's so much on the line. but you and i can make a

difference. there's a mission just for you and me, just look inside and you will find just what you can do. just look inside, and you will find just what you can do. i've had to look inside to find what i can do. and here is what i can do, here is what we can do, we can put united back into the united states of america and move the shining city on a hill back to the top of the hill top where it belongs, and i will never apologize for the greatness of the united states

of america. god bless you, i love you, and thank you. [applaus [applause] >> all right. so there you have it. herman cain announcing that he is suspending his campaign and he is starting a new sort of situation where he will reach out to the american people and we talked about his wife, stating my wife and my family know that these allegations are not true. i'm at peace with my god and the at peace with my wife, and she is at peace with me. and then he went on to say before concluding, belief in god, belief in yourself, belief in this country is what his family taught him and he vows to continue to do that. for more details what herman cain just announced we bring in our correspondent john roberts, chief national correspondent who is there. john, what can you make of what he just stated today. >> well, kelly, in suspense here now we know which way herman cain was going. it was sort of as we were portraying it earlier, he gets

all of his supporters out there and makes a triumphant exit from the stage and an idea of a plan b kind of buttresses that as well. and so many campaigns we've seen end with a hastily called press conference, sort of a somber mood around it, the media is invited to go to a conference room or ballroom in some hotel somewhere and the candidate steps up and says i decided to end my campaign. this has been a celebration of herman cain, and music and barbecue here and the supporters and didn't sound owl that disappointed when he said he was suspending his campaign, probably not a huge surprise. we know he talked to a number of people the last few days about potential of suspending his campaign, whether they be his financial supporters, whether or not they be political strategists or some of his opponents. and here is what michele bachmann said.

herman cain provide add important voice to this process and his ideas and energy generated tremendous enthusiasm to the conservative movement that was so desperately need today restore confidence in our country. i wish, herman, his wife gloria and his family the best. platitudes there from the current presidential candidate, michele bachmann of minnesota. as we merred from republican congressman steve king of iowa a short time ago, his campaign was dead in the water. you know, king said, virtues or not, whatever you believe of herman cain will he's in or out, his campaign is over and all you had to do was look at the numbers in the dehe mons mo, iowa, you can't run for president with numbers like that. >> kelly: going over something that he said. the american people have learned something about president, the fact that it's a dirty, dirty game. what do you think of that, do you think he was send ago shot against those accusers, as well as those who perhaps may have orchestrated allegations as he contends?

>> well, you know, kelly in all fairness that's not first time we've heard a candidate say that. politics is a dirty game. politics is a nasty game after lot of negative campaigning, but herman cain went out there into a large degree blamed the media for what he's going through now. and you could argue both sides of that. you can say yes, the media did repeat accusations that had not been proven, but then at the same time, those accusations were voiced through the media, the media didn't invent those things, they came from other people. so, it's tried and true strategy by my politicians to blame the media for couple -- comeuppances, it will be onlylized the next few days. >> kelly: it happened exactly the way you called it, he'd come out and talk about the media and people would say boo, which they did. and the cain solution is not gone, john. do you think that will give any traction and any value for

the republican presidential hopefuls who will be battling in iowa and new hampshire and south carolina, in order to get the republican nomination? >> well, certainly, i think it's a way for cain to maintain some contact with his supporters. and certainly there are people who do want solutions, i mean, look at the explosion of the tea party. that was not a political movement, it was a grass roots, with people fed up with the country. and if cain perhaps could keep going and being a force in politics. i'm running for president versus my new website, the running for president thing is something that has a lot more prom nance and going to get you a greater distance in trying to effect change. it will be interesting to see whether or not this was a saving face move or whether or not he can actually make a go of this with plan b. >> kelly: the test of time will ultimately be the decider of that. >> absolutely, and finally, he was stating he will be making

endorsement in the near future and going on to fire a shot towards the current president, barack obama, stating that he will not be endorsing president barack obama. of course, anyone who's followed herman cain would know that he wouldn't do that. will his endorsement have any value to the republican presidential hopefuls out there? >> well, he still has 4% support in iowa, so if he's looking to give somebody that 4%, yes, hissen dorment will have a great i am tactffact-- impact. there are conservatives who believe that herman cain had great ideas for the country. his campaign has been tainted with the drip, drip, drip of the allegations you may see similar statements to that that we saw from michele bachmann. we that you, herman cain and appreciate what you brought to the race and now we're moving on. when you're tainted with allegations it's difficult to have impact when handing over an endorsement. yet, there are a lot of people who still see herman cain very favorable, and favorably.

they don't believe the allegations and so, it may have some impact, but i would imagine in the grand scheme of things, it's not going to have a whole lot of impact. it's clear that newt gingrich has already picked up most of his supporters and newt gingrich and his fortunes have risen by the same degree he that herman cain's declined. whether or not there's anything left, difficult to say. >> kelly:on roberts keeping us assessed on situation there in atlanta and about herman cain and of course, the suspense is now over and herman cain announcing that he's going to suspend his campaign. and john, the long and short of it. this is something that perhaps he had to do, because as you mentioned, those allegations were just so overwhelming, and his, it seems like he was totally off message, once those accusations began coming at him and coming at him and then the recent allegations of the alleged affair with ginger white and reporting earlier there may be other reports coming out with more details about ginger