Video: Cain ?reassessing? presidential campaign

>> following big breaking news on herman cain . he told a senior staff he is reassessing his campaign for president after ginger white went public with her alleged 13-year affair with herman cain . according to cain 's iowa chairman, he addressed all the national staff in a 10-minute conference call and reiterated this was a friend and he was trying to help her out financially and nothing inappropriate happened. cain emphasized the campaign was continuing on and he would deliver a planned speech in michigan tonight and he was looking forward to it. he said it has taken an emotional toll on his family and that's difficult for them. john harwood joins us live now. what do you think? what might be herman cain 's next mess. what does reassessing mean?

>> he has to figure out whether or not it's worth it given that his poll numbers have been going down because of the previous allegations are likely to continue going down. he said yesterday on cnn he would stay in the race as long as his wife was behind him. you got to wonder whether or not in light of the latest allegations whether she decided she had enough of this whole enterprise. i can tell you that many others are thinking of cain and supporters in the past tense in terms of a cain set of supporters and looking for how they can take advantage of the situation to pick up the support.

>> is cain on the same page? you have the information coming in about him telling the folks there that this woman was a friend and he was helping her out financially. the guy in charge of his iowa team said in a tweet overnight referring to this woman as a stalking defaming liabler in a tweet about her. you would think that herman cain would pull these people back a little bit. he know what is went on more than anybody else more than ginger white.

>> the fact that the team cain was not on the same page was evident when he went on cnn and dressed the charges and said no affair and no sex and nothing like that. his attorney put out a statement saying nobody should ask the questions. you have the tweet going after her really hard. clearly they have been knocked back by this and they are not sure how to proceed. herman cain is trying to figure out whether it's worth it to keep going. we will see if he delivers that speech, but he is in a very, very difficult position. i think his chances of getting this nomination if they were ever significant are way diminished if not nonexistent.

>> let's bring in the political panel and talk show host , michael smerconish and an msnbc contributor. thank you, gentlemen. we will start with you, michael. a lot of people speculated that the only reason herman cain got in the race was to sell books and get out there and get his face in there. now he stepped in political quick sand .

>> this may have been how it all began, but he caught the wave that we discover and started to believe he could win this bring, meaning at least the nomination. the handwriting was already on the wall that he was in decline and this is going to finish him off. what i find most significant is the statement to the media that said this is the case of alleged consensual sex or a relationship on the part of these two people. therefore it's a private matter. i think he's right when he makes that argument but because of the harassment charges, people will never give that break.

>> you are interest to pose that question. that's the gut check we will ask people if they think it should matter. what is interesting is that you have conservative who is defended herman cain in the accusations that he harassed women and forced one woman's head into his lap. they are abandoning him in the wake of an affair. sean hannity who was a booster and on fox news, governor mike huckabee saying that he thinks this is the most damagingly allegation to date. not the sexual harassment , but that he may have cheated on his wife.

>> i see it in the reverse order. i think harassment is a far more serious charge to be levelled against a public servant. if there were no allegations of harassment and this guy cheated on his wife and it was a case of infidelity and i'm not minimizing it, this is a matter for he and his wife and it's not our business.

>> let me bring you in on this. i love this headline for many reasons. you said the most famous phi landerer is gaining a windfall. he could reap the benefits. not that i need you to help me, but to the audience here.

>> we have seen a pattern prevail in the race going like this. there is about 30 or 40 or maybe more percent that just doesn't want to get behind mitt romney . it was michele bachmann and then herman cain and rick perry . donald trump when he was pretending to run. the numbers have evaporated. instead of any of that support going to romney, it found a new non-romney choice. already herman cain was sliding back in the polls and already going to newt gingrich who got to the low 20s. if you look at the poll break down and the cain supporters and said do you have a favorable opinion of newt gingrich , they say yes. 35% say yes about mitt romney . they like newt gingrich . he is surging. i think this is now a case where next week, newt gingrich will be 10 or 15 points ahead of mitt romney .

>> regarding herman cain 's situation, i think it's a difficult situation for he and his family. i hope he reaches whatever the right decision is for them. beyond that i won't have any comment. that's safe.

>> it's a school of thought that said adultery is in the news and it will remind them and hurt them too.

>> that's what you think.

>> he is talking to the social conservative leaders and they don't top the get behind mitt romney . newt gingrich is giving them the path.

>> we are christians and we forgive.

>> i have a wife now and what's in the past is in the past.

>> you have mitt romney in florida , the first candidate to plant his flag in that state for not just republicans and democrats as well and nobody is talking about that.

>> it will be a long haul and we will talk about florida . we will continue to see a knockout blow and he can strike in warks and new hampshire. they are not looking at how the rules have changed in this season and the reality is we no longer play by winner take all. they will focus on florida and beyond into super tuesday.

>> we have our attention on mitt romney when others fallout for whatever reason. may it be scandal or cannot survive financially.

>> could be for sure. i think it's like a game of roulette where the ball is bouncing at the end. has it stopped bouncing? i don't think it stopped bouncing on the newt gingrich number. there is more play to come.

>> you can check out salon.com.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/newsnation/45480751/

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