mr. cain say he was not aware of any settlement. well, here is where tonight it gets puzzling. now the washington examiner quotes a taped interview to air later on the fox news channel in which cain not only says he was aware of the settlements, he was aware of the settlements, he goes on to talk about them in considerable detail, saying he discussed the payments to one woman with the general counsel of the restaurant association. rain recalls the woman initially wanted a giant sum of money but then settled for two or three months' salary t. same herman cain said repeatedly earlier in the day he knew nothing about any settlements. after saying for more than a day he couldn't respond to the allegations, he says he's recalling one of the encounters with a woman cain describes as in her late 30s or 40s that led to one of the sexual harassment complaints. his shifting explanations tonight down right bizarre. the timing couldn't be worse for cain. the businessman has catapulted from nowhere to the

so mr. cain, you've talked a lot in the debates about how business experience is different from political experience and may be preferable now. i wonder if you could talk a little bit about how you think your business experience has influenced the design of 9-9-9. >> all right, mr. block, i know we'll be talking about the economy and we'll be monitoring this and turning it around. let me ask you one other question about -- you talked about april 15th, 2009. >> yes. >> you got your start, i believe, at americans for prosperity? >> correct. >> what is your relationship with the koch brothers, and what is it that their interests in which you've been doing and what is their interest in the cain campaign? >> you know, it's interesting we get tied to the koch brothers quite a bit. in fact i was doing an interview over the weekend where i had stated that when i was a director of americans for prosperity, not once, not once were we ever given the directive on how to take a stand on a policy based upon wh

we wanted to make sure mr. cain himself, not his staff, mr. cain himself, had a chance to respond to these very serious questions. so i asked him directly, outside of cbs news yesterday morning, have you, sir, ever been accused of sexual harassment in your life? i gave him four chances to answer that very straightforward question. he didn't do it. and not until today did he finally admit that, yes, he was accused of sexual harassment. he denied it. and said that there was one charge. a half a dozen sources tell us that there were at least two female employees who complain about their treatment by mr. cain. >> nia, i want to ask you, is anybody out there pushing this story with a partisan agenda? i'm trying to figure the motive. it would seem to be -- i don't want to speculate, because i always speculate in my mind, but i don't want to do it here, as to who would gain from the fall of herman cain? i don't think the liberals would be after him at this point. he doesn't look like the nominee. but who would be after him would be a fellow conservati

now, mr. cain may be a coward, i don't know, but it was always simply a minority of african-americans who were engaged at any point in the civil rights movement. because it was a life and death question. and i can't be certain what choices i would have made had i faced that. but then i think for me the second issue, and this is maybe the thing that made me the most uncomfortable, is i can't remember anyone ever asking a white politician who is of the same age where they were during the sit ins. as you pointed out in your interview, there were white students who came down to be part of freedom summer. there were white allies at every point. yet we don't consider it a litmus test for white politicians to have had enough moral courage, ethical vision and american value to have participated actively in the civil rights movement. and i think that for me what was distressing was just the idea that, you know, the later set of questions about, you know, were you in the part of the draft, did you serve in t

unless he fixes fund-raising, strategic deficiencies, and fixes them fast, mr. cain learn that very difficult lesson but worth watching. a very important period for mr. herman cain. >>> unusual fallout from the alleges iranian plat to assassinate saudi arabia's ambassador to the united states. both countries are doing something they almost never do. [ boy y, i thought these were electri uh, it is, yeah, it's a chevy volt. so what are you doing at a gas station? well it still takes gas to go farther. but you're not getting gas. true. not this time. uh, don't have to gas up very often. so you have to go to the bathroom? no. yes you do. thought these were electric? yes, it's a uh, a chevy volt. so what are you doing at a gas station? consumers er wanchai ferry orange chicken... over p.f. chang's home menu orange chicken women men and uh pandas... elbows mmm [ male announcer ] wanchai ferry, try it yourself. i'm not a line item on a budget. and i'm definitely not a pushover. but i am a voter. so washington... before you even think about cutting my medicare and social sec

mr. cain has two scheduled speeches today in washington d.c. the allegations around herman cain come as he continues to top the polls in this republican race. a new des moines register poll shows cain tied with romney. the only other candidate in double figures is ron paul at 12%. michele bachmann and rick perry rounding out the top five. herman cain talked about it on cbs yesterday. >> i believe that i'm doing so well because i'm connecting with the people. one of the other misperceptions about my campaign is that we just started a few months ago, right i announced in may. i've actually been connecting with people in iowa, new hampshire, south carolina and florida, for over a year, even before i made the decision to run. so, my message is connecting. people are connecting with me. and the specific solutions i'm putting on the table. >> that interview with bob schieffer was taped before this issue came to light. it's clear the white house thinks he will be the nominee. senior adviser to the white house, david plouffe, taking aim from mr. romney

mr. cain. >> thanks, lawrence. it's my pleasure. >> mr. cain, in the president's news conference today the president came out in support of the senate democrats' idea of paying for his jobs bill with a 5% surtax on income over $1 million. and a recent nbc/"wall street journal" poll showed overwhelming bipartisan support for increasing taxes on incomes over $1 million. that's 81% support for increasing taxes for incomes over $1 million. has the democratic party somehow managed to brainwash 81% of the american people into supporting that idea? >> the answer is yes. the democrats have succeeded at brainwashing a lot of the american people. first of all, taxing people more that make over $1 million isn't going to solve the problem. secondly, they have just taken class warfare to another level. when for decades you are telling the american people that we ought to take more from the rich in order to help pay off our debts but yet the debts don't get paid off, they're just playing the class warfare c

mr. cain, a businessman, syndicated columnist, radio talk show host, and former ceo of godfather's pizza, tned presidential candidate, is the man of the moment. and he's joining us this morning as part of our "meet the candidates" series. mr. cain, welcome to "meet the press." >> david, i'm delighted to be here. >> your big idea is to throw out the tax code. >> yes. >> tax reform is a way to create jobs and spur economic growth. >> yes. >> the reality of the 9-9-9 plan is this, i'll put it up on the screen. it is to have a 9% corporate income tax. 9% personal income tax. 9% sales tax. everything else is gone. >> yes. >> the reality of the plan is that some people pay more, some people pay less. this is how "the washington post" reported it on friday, we'll put it up on the screen. experts see surprise in cain's 9-9-9 plan. the 9-9-9 plan that has helped propel businessman cain to the front of the gop presidential field would stick many poor and middle-class people with a hefty tax increase whi

as we await mr. cain, the house in the brief pros and -- pro forma said it -- right after that herman cain will be speaking at the national press club. you will be able to see that on c-span. that will start at 1 p.m. eastern. the senate is in session today. they start at 3 p.m. eastern beginning with general speeches. at 4:30 they will consider a nomination of u.s. circuit judge for the fifth circuit. then at 5 p.m. the senate will hold their first roll call of the week. senate also continued working on remaining amendments to h.r. 2112, the so-called minibus of federal spending. they will resume taking votes on those when consideration resumes of h.r. 2112 tomorrow. you can see the senate live here on c-span2. the house life on c-span. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [applause] >> thank you, good morning.

when mr. cain brings 9-9-9 relief from penalties to our jobs from 35% to 9%, the lowest business tax rate in the world, we will once again be competitive leader even with countries like china. we can go back to work and have our paychecks again. once freed from the dragon of massive corporate taxes, america will bring our jobs home. 9-9-9 means jobs, jobs, jobs. [applause] then, we can be charitable again and help others because by embracing 9--9-9, we also help ourselves. 9-9-9 offers hope and opportunity for americans of every walk of life, an opportunity to live in a good quality of life again. no more fear of how to feed and educate our families. 9- 9-9-brings jobs back from overseas. want to know why critics fight 9-9-9? it is because they didn't think of it first. a leader leads. that's why you are going to hear about opportunity, power from our leader. he has a plan. opportunity and economic justice for all. in 1963, uncle ml spoke of a check mark insufficient funds breaking the backs and he

and mr. cain himself did not answer a very basic question, have you ever been accused of sexual harassment or not. we could not get an answer. we published our story last night after having reported it over a period of weeks and talking extensively to dozens of individuals. host: what do you think this does to the campaign at this point? guest: obviously mr. cain has questions to insert. we try to get answers for a period of 10 days. perhaps now he will be more forthcoming. but certainly, there is going to be intense scrutiny on him going forward, like there is on all serious candidates for the white house. the american people want to know who these candidates are, they want to know their backgrounds. host: jonathan martin of politico, thank you for sharing time with us. guest: thank you so much. host: a little bit of the follow-up reporting, this from "the washington post" today. cain camp denies harassment allegations. they say he is pushing back against these allegations that he engaged with --

mr. cain's new book is titled "45 a special number." mr. cain notes that his conception, gestation, and birth occurred within the year 1945. he launches into a detailed account of how 45 keeps on popping up as i go about the business of being elected. you guessed it, as the 45th president of the united states. in some cases, the digits 4 and 5 are only part of the figure like when a commentary ran to 645 words or when a final leg of a campaign trip took place on flight 1045 traveling at 45,000 feet. at times the 45 in question is tangentially related to cain. he cites an event where he met a couple celebrating their 45th anniversary. in 2014, the year the 45th president will be inaugurated as president, herman cain and his wife will be celebrating their wedding anniversary. do you know which year it is? 45. oh my god. herman cain is apparently an obsessed numerologist. i mean, think about it. the title of his book is "this is herman cain." five syllables. multiply five by the chapter number wh

. >> after mr. cain taped "face the nation," i interviewed him and asked him repeatedly, in fact, four times all told, have you ever been accused of sexual harassment? he would not answer the question. >> in fact, he answered politico's own question. he continued to quote "thinly veiled allegations." when chuck pressed him about the payouts, chuck passed the buck. >> i am not personally aware of any settlement dealing with mr. cain. >> you understand how that sounds? >> yes, i do. it's very serious. >> no, the fact you can't say it and you're telling us we have to go to the association. that's sad. >> the place to go for an answer if there was a settlement. >> ken vogel co-authored the report with two others. i'm sure you heard the answer from mr. cain. let me get the reaction to his denial. >> what he's saying is he never sexually harassed someone. clearly there were allegations of sexual harassment. he's saying he didn't perceive his behavior to be sexual harassment. we have allegations from two women.

i think that mr. cainndividually against governor romney but compares his 999 plan which is simple to governor romney's plan which is 157 pages and really takes one loophole and replaces it with another. >> when your path to the nomination does well, where do you win your first primarprimar? >> we need to do well in iowa. we need to do well in new hampshire. >> what is that? top three? >> top three. we need to come in first or second in south carolina which we feel very good about. we feel very good about florida, obviously. >> then you have to start winning. once you win one, then you have to be winning all the primaries? >> exactly. >> mark block, we'll be watching. your headquarters is in atlanta. i brought your bumper sticker. >> this is what is resonating across america right now. mr. cain can go through an airport and he's no longer the pizza guy. he's now the 999 guy. >> sort of fits with the pizza guy. >> yeah. >> sounds look a special. mark block, thanks for coming in. good to meet you. up next, w

listen as mr. cainlains how a working class family could avoid a big tax hit under the 9-9-9 approach. >> here is a fact. it would depend upon what that family spent their money on. when you get to that third nine, that national sales tax, it depends upon whether or not they buy used goods or whether on they buy new goods. >> let's listen to that explanation one more time. you did concede some people would pay more, by your calculations, who would pay more, mr. cain? >> the people that would pay more are the people who would buy mostly new goods. >> now, i grew up on hand-me-downs and my dad could nerve, never afford hi new car. in the painful recession and in its wake, millions of american families are buying used, or many not buying at all and most, well, they're not complaining but they sure hope things get better for them and for everyone. when they do, you bet they would like, no, they would love to buy a new car or new washing machine. even if you accept mr. cain's logic, well, those people at the

you are now leading, mr. cainin two national polls this week including the cbs news/"new york times" poll. here is the new des moines register poll just out this morning for iowa where the first contest takes place in january. lo and behold you're basically in a statistical tie with mitt romney. you have 23%. he's one point behind. the only other candidate in double digits is ron paul with 12%. i guess the first question i have to ask you is, why do you believe you're doing so well? >> i believe that i'm doing so well because i'm connecting with the people. one of the other misperceptions about my campaign is that we just started a few months right after i announced in may. i've actually been connecting with people in iowa, new hampshire, south carolina and florida for over a year even before i made the decision to run. so my message is connecting. and people are connecting with me. and the specific solutions i'm putting on the table. snb do you think it has anything to do with maybe republicans just don't like mi

but mr. cainmic plan, 9-9-9, it's resonating, and it's resonating with main street america, erin, just like i think that the youtube video that has now gone viral, which i'm being told has been seen by over 3 million people has resonated also with mainstream. herman cain is a man of the people. i can see now that you're playing the -- >> i'm playing it, yes. i'm playing it. >> he's a man of the people. kind of like what i was talking about with the ad. it resonated with the vfw people in iowa and other people all across the country. >> so i'm going to ask you a little bit about that ad. obviously, you're explaining why you did it. i mean, you've done these ads, they go viral, lots and lots of people see them. we actually looked at your hits on youtube versus the other candidates and, well, it's pretty obvious that you're getting the buzz and they are not. we're looking at it right here. as you said, nearly a million viewers, what we saw, but look at compared to mitt romney and rick perry. are you

but mr. cainbout his economic plan, 9-9-9, it's resonating, and it's resonating with main street america, erin, just like i think that the youtube video that has now gone viral, which i'm being told has been seen by over 3 million people has resonated also with mainstream. herman cain is a man of the people. i can see now that you're playing the -- >> i'm playing it, yes. i'm playing it. >> he's a man of the people. kind of like what i was talking about with the ad. it resonated with the vfw people in iowa and other people all across the country. >> so i'm going to ask you a little bit about that ad. obviously, you're explaining why you did it. i mean, you've done these ads, they go viral, lots and lots of people see them. we actually looked at your hits on youtube versus the other candidates and, well, it's pretty obvious that you're getting the buzz and they are not. we're looking at it right here. as you said, nearly a million viewers, what we saw, but look at compared to mitt romney and rick p

and mr. cainnd his ideas will without a doubt be a major focus right here in las vegas tomorrow night. in a motel, one-on-one with mr. cain in his only national interview today. first over the week, cain conceded some would pay more taxes under his signature 9-9-9 plan. >> some people will pay more but most people will pay less is my argument. >> now rising in the polls means more attention from his rivals who are attacking cain on his views on gay marriage and immigration. generating headlines, this remark over the week in tennessee. >> i tell you what. when i'm in charge of the fence, we'll have a fence. 20 feet high. it will have barbed wire over the top. it will be electrocuted -- electrified. and there will be a sign on the other side that says it will kill you. >> the congressional hispanic congress speaks remark is grossly insensitive. in arizona, michele bachmann says it proves he just doesn't get it. >> i also wanted to say that this is no laughing matter. the border fence. we've seen jok

mr. cain singing at the omaha press club meeting.on john lennon's "imagine a world with no pizza" sang mr. cain. ♪ imagine there's no pizza ♪ i couldn't if i tried ♪ eating only tacos ♪ or kentucky fried ♪ imagine only burgers ♪ it's frighten iing and sad ♪ ♪ you're lucky you have pizza ♪ to feed your kids for you ♪ only frosting or cookies >> it goes on for from there. 1 >>> coming up, your constructive e-mails and tweets next. "morning joe" moments away. [ inner voice ] establish connection. give me voice control. applications up. check my email and text messages. hands in position. airbags. ten of 'em. perfect. add blind spot monitor. 43 mpg, nice. dependability. yeah. activate dog. a bigger dog. [ male announcer ] introducing the reinvented 2012 toyota camry. it's ready. are you? ♪ [ gasp ] [ mom ] my husband -- he thinks it's a 3-sheeter. i say 1-sheeter. bounty can clean the mess with less. [ female announcer ] in this lab demo, 1 sheet of bounty leaves this surface as clean as 2 sheets of the bargain brand. ♪ dance cooking? br