Still battling news media attention on past charges of sexual harassment, Herman Cain has another full day of events scheduled in the Washington, D.C. area on Wednesday, as he tries to stay on message in his bid for the White House.
Instead of stumping for votes in Iowa or New Hampshire, Cain will spend a fourth straight day in the nation’s capital; he starts the day with a breakfast speech in suburban Virginia and ends it with a reception at a GOP political club on Capitol Hill.
After having dinner last night with a small group of Republican Senators in Washington, Cain will rub elbows with House Republicans today as he gives a speech on health care issues in a House office building, a visit that is sure to draw strong media interest.
But while Cain tries to make it look like everything is normal on his visit to the District of Columbia, bubbling beneath the surface is the sexual harassment issue and whether one of Cain's accusers might try to speak out in public.
The woman - whose home in the Washington area is being staked out by major media organizations - will have her lawyer contact the National Restaurant Association today to see about waiving a 1999 non-disclosure agreement that keeps her from talking about the Cain matter.
It isn't difficult to imagine the kind of media circus that would be instantly created if one of the two women at issue here were to hold a news conference.
It was not immediately clear whether the National Restaurant Association would allow the women to go public or not as officials said they had not been contacted by lawyers for either of the women.
Cain meanwhile was trying to do his best to keep his campaign moving forward, making his case in public and private gatherings for his candidacy while aides said even more money was coming in - thanks to this story.
In an appearance on Fox News last night, Cain said he expected to be attacked as his campaign moved up.
"Once I got near the top in the polls," Cain said, "then they let all of the dogs out."
Cain says his campaign offices are being flooded with calls from supporters, some ready to speak out publicly on his behalf to rebut the charges from a dozen years ago.
"No, I don't believe it has hurt my campaign at all," as Cain said his fund raising has gone up "dramatically."
