obviously someone is encouraging them to bring it up now because i'm doing so well in this republican nomination. that's all i would say. why are you bringing it up now? secondly, are you being used to try and help paint a cloud and help sabotage my candidacy? that's all i would say. i would simply ask a question as to why they would do that now. >> that has apparently angered one of the women. here's what her attorney, joel bennett told "the washington post," it's frustrating herman cain is bad mouthing two complainants and my client is blocked bay confidentiality agreement. joining us on the telephone, chief legal analyst, jeffrey toobin. if she signed a confidentiality agreement a dozen years ago and the restaurant association signed that agreement, frum proo presumably mr. cain signed that as welsh. >> you're making assumptions i'm not sure are valid. we don't flow what's in the contract. nigh guess is herman cain did not sign that confidentiality agreement, it was probably directly between her and the national restaurant association so it's up to the restaurant association whether they want waive it. presumably they'd be influenced by herman cain saying let her tell her story, but first place he hasn't said that yet, he'll be sure to be asked that soon. second place, we don't know what the restaurant association will do. but to get to the bottom line, chances are, when someone wants to tell their story in the united states of america, they wind up telling it and i expect we'll be hearing from this woman sooner rather than later. >> you have that expectation. and i suspect you are right. let's go through how this would work legally. if she signed the document a dozen years ago, if it's just between her and the restaurant association, nothing mr. cain is saying would take away the agreement, correct? it would have to be the restaurant association itself which the only statement they have made on the record they can't and won't comment on person until decisions made a long time ago. >> probably, although, again, it depends on what the agreement says. there might be a provision that says it's waived if a former employee of the national restaurant association speaks. in that case, her attorneys could argue he's voided it, that's why the wording of the contract, because that's what a confidentiality agreement is, makes all of the difference. what does it osay? is she bound by it? >> would it be typical to have a penalty for violating it? obviously there was a financial settlement here, reports are the five figures, is there, if you violate this you pay a penalty or forfeit the money? >> that's the custom. the custom for employees who leave and sign confidentiality agreements is the agreement says, if you breach this, you have to give whatever money we gave you back. and obviously she even though it's many years late, especially since it's many years late, done want to give that money back. that's the risk she runs in breaching it, who knows if they would go to court to enforce it, but she's being advised by cautious lawyers they want to make sure she's not at risk of losing her money. >> that's the last point i wanted to raise. if she decides to speak and does that, the restaurant association would seek an injunction or penalize her, most unlikely? >> the national restaurant association is not the center of national political controversy. i cannot believe they are pleased to be in this position. they want less attention rather than more attention, and they are sitting around presumably thinking, how do we get out of this thing without getting our name dragged through the mud? last thing they want to do is file some lawsuit which would only guarantee much, much more publicity. >> jeff toobin, helping us work out legal issues tonight. word of two sexual harassment allegations and two cash payments by the restaurant association surfaced as mr. cain emerged as force in the republican race. he's leading most national polls and in first or second in most of the key early primary and caucus states. the crisis could impact that because cain's explanations have been inconsistent. first, for example, he said he was not aware of any financial settlements with two accusers. >> as far as a settlement, i am unaware of any sort of settlement. i hope it wasn't for much because i didn't do anything. but the fact of the matter is, i'm not airof a settlement that came out of that accusation. >> within hour, though, he was discussing one of the cases, including the settlement in great detail. >> and i did this saying, you're the same height as my wife, because my wife is five feet tall and comes up to my chin. this lady's five feet tall and came up to my chin. obviously she thought that that was too close for comfort. >> today mr. cain said this to hln's robin meade when asked about his changing story. >> just started to remember more. remember, in 12 years a lot of stuff can go through your head. this isn't something i had top of mind when i was trying to recall every detail that went on 12 years ago. >> defiant cain predicts his campaign will not be harmed and he say is he had a record fund-raising monday. with the story has come a racially charged subplot. cain calls it a high-tech lynching the same term clarence thomas used when his nomination was in question because of anita hill's last-minute sexual harassment alleges. look at this e-mail, engaging in a high-tech lynching by smearing his reputation and attacking his character. the idea of a black conservative like herman cain as gop nominee is barack obama and the left's worst nightmare. that is now become a rallying cry in conservative circles. listen to this exchange between sean hannity and ann coulter. both cain and thomas used high-tech lynching is that accurate? yep, it's coming from the same people who used to dot lynching with ropes now they do it with a word processor. hannity, the democratic party? coulter, yes. among those who agrees with ann coulter, president of the media research council and someone who fiercely disagrees is our cnn contributor, roland martin. bret, i want to start with you. how can you say what evidence is there that the democratic party and the left has anything to do with it this? >> do with what, john? that's the issue. you know, we've been talking about this for 36 hours now, i'm going to ask you a question, what's herman cain done wrong? what's the accusation? what's the fact in the matter? >> i would say this, i would say you're absolutely right, there is no evidence he has done anything wrong and we have been clear to say, innocence until proven guilty its worse than that. it's worse than that. there's not an accusation. and he's on trial. there's no accusation. what's he being accused of? sexual harassment means anything you want it to mean, you know that. none of us know. and we're talking about this for 36 hours? that's a lynching. >> if a democratic candidate for president had been the head of a trade group or some private association and been involved in cash settlements for sexual harassment allegations whether they -- maybe that democrat would say they're baseless like this, you wouldn't think that as a news story. >> if there wasn't a specific charge, i'd say the same thing, absolutely. what is the accusation? politico's going to run a story, they say they've got it, what is it? i'm waiting to hear what the charge is. the man's been on trial for 36 hour. what's the charge? >> you reacted strongly to the idea that there was a high-tech lynching and that term became front and center during the clarence thomas confirmation process. you sent out a tweet, conservatives, this is a lynching and you had a picture of a tweet, we're not going to show it, but what is happening to herman cain is not a lynching. what got you so mad? >> yeah, john, we should show the photo. i believe cnn should, because brent talked about it's a lynching. no, let's me tell you something, when you saw black men hanging from trees, body burned, that's a lynching. a lynching is not when you have herman cain standing at the national press club singing aamazing grace. at end of the day you have a story done by politico that talked about allegations made against herman cain, a settlement from a national restaurant association. if the nra wants to release information, so be it. but what brent is try to do with the fictitious e-mail he sent out they want to center the -- they want to make it about a race discussion. it is not. ann coulter and others, it is offensive to compare what is happening to herman cain to lynching. lynching, what people were murdered, were killed, what's happening to herman cain is called big boy politics. if you run for president, this was going to come up. how do you not think it was going to come up? >> even if this is a smear, if it's opposition research whether from the left or another one of the republican campaigns, how does it have anything to do with race to rolland's point? >> how do you -- first of all, how do you disprove a negative? again, i'm going to say -- >> people are asserting that this is because you have a prominent african-american conservative that that's why this is happening. where is the evidence? >> oh, i'm saying that there is a special disdain that the left has for black conservatives. absolutely i'm saying it. and i'm saying they showed it against clarence thomas and showing it against herman cain. herman cain said, it's going to happen and it has happened. look if that term is acceptable for justice clarence thomas, it's acceptable for me. if it's acceptable for herman cain, it's acceptable for me. >> and this is -- >> i want to ask you, what's the charge? >> excuse me, i'm going to answer this. here's what you have, john. you have people on the right who despise reverend al sharpton, reverend jesse jackson sr. i can say, people on the right doesn't like some blacks on the left, people on the left don't like some blacks on the right, this is not a race issue. and brent knows it. what he wants to do, john, is to shift this conversation, that's what -- you notice that's why rush and ann coulter, shawn hannity, brent, parodying the same phrases. talking about when you run for president, things in your past are going to come up. so whether you are -- >> what things? >> whether you are john kerry and the swift boat. >> what things? >> excuse me. >> i'm going to sksh. >> john. >> i'm going to ask for the fourth time the question, what's the charge? what is the accusation -- >> go to the national restaurant association who conducted their own investigation -- look, you have a news website. excuse me, brent, i didn't interrupt you. you have a website, news busters, go do your own research, your own reporting. whether senator kerry and swift boat, whether it was john edwards, whether it was president obama, and the reality is stories come up, issues come up that get investigated and so this is a long line. but it is nonsense for -- >> what is the story. >> -- to make it a race issue. >> you've got him on trial and you won't tell me what the charge is. what's the charge? >> he's not on trial. >> i don't think we have anybody on trial. we have a man of the major association. >> you're tell me herman cain is not on trial. you're better than that. of course he's on trial. >> i think there are questions -- he's running for president of the was the story was published by a represent putsable news organization that accounts cash payments from an organization he headed to two women he says those accusations and baseless. i take him at his word until i know otherwise that payments were made. he did complicate thing business having contradictory statements. >> yes, he did. >> i can see -- i concede it was 12 years ago and it took some time but he did xli indicacompl things by having inconsistencies. >> if you take him at his word and there's not a scintilla of evidence against him, why are we talking about this? >> listen to what john said, brent, brent, i read your press releases. if this was reversed you would be slamming john king saying how dare you not talk about this? the fact of the matter is he gave an emphatic that i had no knowledge whatsoever of settlements. few hours later he begins to say, he did. either you did or you didn't. and so, all of a sudden he begins to say i talked about the size, she came to my wife's chin, so all of a sudden, is he saying that's what the comment was? so again, brent, you can dance around this but what i'm saying is, if you want to make the argument that we shouldn't be discussing it at all, that's fine, but it is shameful, for you and others to sit here and compare to to lynching. i'm saying, brent, stop with lynching. stop with lynching. stop using the phrase. that is -- >> brent -- >> disrespectful. >> yesterday morning he said he didn't recollect anything. by last night he recollects a tiny fact, that's all he recollected. >> he was emphatic, no settlement. >> i don't want a shouting match for the entire program. to rolland's point, let brent finish his answer here. >> absolutely. >> he says where does the race part come from, brent? please, take the floor. >> i do believe that there is a special disdain that the left has for black conservatives. whether it is clarence thomas, whether it is herman cain, whether it is thomas sole, anybody who stands up as a black conservative is attacked merslessly by the left and attacked far more fiercely than white conservatives are. >> john, i tell you, attacking reverend sharpton, reverend jackson, i hear the same thing, that's weak. >> we're not going to settle the debate tonight. appreciate both of you coming on the program. we'll continue the conversation as necessary. brent, thank you. we'll get perspective from an executive who worked close wily with herman cain in the private sector. 7 l air -- still have . [ both ] our camaro. [ man ] chevy silverado -- third one. [ male announcer ] people love their chevys. that's because for 100 years, chevy has offered the best value in america. come in now and help us celebrate our centennial open house, november 1st through the 7th. and fall in love with your next chevy. ♪ the progresso chicken noodle you made is so good. it's got tender white meat chicken. the way i always made it for you. one more thing.... those pj's you like, i bought you five new pairs. love you. did you see the hockey game last night? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. [ tires squeal ] an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money to buy a car that's one model-year newer with 15,000 fewer miles on it. there's no other auto insurance product like it. better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual. it's a better policy that gets you a better car. call... or visit one of our local offices today, and we'll provide the coverage you need at the right price. liberty mutual auto insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? break news in the sexual harassment allegations surrounding the campaign of herman cain. one of the women who accused him of sexual harassment says through her attorney she wants to tell her story. "the washington post" quotes that attorney as saying the woman's trying to reason leased from a confidential at agreement she signed a dozen years ago with the national restaurant association. we talked to his longtime executive assistant as we tried to learn more about mr. cain, the man, whether they believe anything like this could be possible. let's talk to another former longtime associate. joining from miami, frank taylor, worked with herman cain from 1983 through 1986. let me start with that question, in any of your experience with herman cain, did he say or do anything that you would nermts terpts nerpts interpret as sexual harassment in any way. >> absolutely not. >> to describe him in the professional set, because that's the issue at hand, his dealings with woman? >> certainly, i saw herman cain in a number of social situations. he would occasionally go to happy hour with the region's staff at a nearby benigan's on friday nights. i traveled with him to various meetings and conferences with franchisees with other burger king employees, saw him social situations in restaurants, in bars, in some cases nightclubs, and i can honestly say i never saw herman cain do anything that i would consider to be inappropriate. >> you know, he makes a point himself, that he has asense of humor and sometimes it wrongs the people way in politics or seems out of context, he's brash, very confident. anything at all that somebody might misinterpret. >> well, certainly when you shake hands with herman and times that i've seen him since i worked for him, he's not someone that just comes up and gives you a handshake. he gives you a handshake, a slap on the back, i big hello. that's just his style. herman is an outgoing person. and you know, he's someone that you know, is you know, has no problem in giving you a pat on the back or put a hand on the shoulder, but certainly part of the way he is. >> you just heard a conversation that got heated, and from the conservatives you hear a lot of people saying it's not a legitimate news story, why are we covering this, and part of it is allegations were made when he was head of a serious organization and chief executive of the organization and part of it is his response. you know him well as chief executive and as a colleague. as you've watched in the last 24 to 36 hours initially he would say nothing, then he said he knew nothing about this, anonymous sources and then he knew nothing about settlements and discussing the settlements in some detail. has that part of it surprised you, his story has evolved? >> that part is a surprise. i would have thought that the campaign would have had a more coherent response. in working with herman cain, he was an individual who did have a grasp of details, he's a big picture type person. when i worked with him had a grasp of the details. >> you say had a grasp of the details. as a chief executive you're mindful of your behavior and there had been an accusation, you say the campaign should have pulled this together more dw quickly. you assume mr. cain would have remembered quite well, would you not? >> that's hard for me to say. >> hard for you to say. when you say a detail oriented person what do you mean? >> i was the numbers guy for him. he would know the numbers as well as have the broader strategy. what i think that if it's such a situation occurred that mr. cain would have remembered, yes, but that's just my point of view. >> as you've watched all of this unfold in the last couple of days, what's gone through your mind? >> i certainly was shocked when i heard the first reports on sunday. it's just not fitting with the herman cain that i know. >> would you vote for him? >> you know, i think it's too early to tell. we're still a year away from the election. i'm certainly not in a position on who i would support at this time. >> frank taylor, appreciate your insights on your former associate and friend, herman cain. thank you. >> thanks for the opportunity. >> you're welcome, sir. south carolina sheriff who has controversial advise for people in his county. he says it's time to get a gun. o . ♪ with the lowest national plan premium... ♪ ...and copays as low as one dollar... ♪ ...saving on medicare prescriptions is easy. ♪ so you're free to focus on the things that really matter. call humana at 1-800-808-4003. or go to walmart.com for details. call humana at 1-800-808-4003. ♪ ♪ ♪ when your chain of supply ♪ goes from here to shanghai, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ chips from here, boards from there ♪ ♪ track it all through the air, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ clearing customs like that ♪ hurry up no time flat that's logistics. ♪ ♪ all new technology ups brings to me, ♪ ♪ that's logistics. ♪ age exasperated south carolina sheriff is raising eyebrows with his crime fighting advice, get a gun. spartanburg sheriff says women in his community should forget about buying mace and instead apply for a concealed weapons permit. advice that has national gun control organizations up in arms. his anger stems from a weekend attack committed by a repeat offender. listen here, and it's clear sheriff wright knows what he's going to say is going to cause controversy. >> i'm really aggravated. a lady on sunday, afternoon, guys, sunday, walking her dog, and this animal comes up and attacks her. it's almost too bad that somebody with a concealed wellewelle wellewell weapons permit didn't walk by and hear the cries. i'm tired of looking at these victims, people saying there's life after this. i think i better stop before i get sanctioned. >> sheriff wright joins us now. i want to pick up right there. do you having that news conference you also held up a fannie pack, one point saying you can get a gun, put a fannie pack like this, i want you to get a concealed weapons permit. you kept saying over and over and then at the end you said i better stop before i get sanctioned. what were you worried about? >> i was worried about my wife, i wasn't worried about what the gun control people think. >> let's talk about that. you say this is a solution. this man you call an animal. it is your hope that somebody -- you wish that somebody with a concealed weapons permit had been in the park that day, that is what you're saying? >> yes, sir, exactly what i'm saying. i'm really tired of looking at some of these women that we have to look at and tell, we've had this gentleman in our criminal justice system over 20 time sweez couldnand we couldn't do anything with them and we're sorry they're back on the street raping you and i'm tired of people who feel like the form of justice that we have now is working because it's proof positive that it doesn't. he's been in the system 20 times since 1983 and it's apparent that he's not going to get the message. >> how in the world does he keep getting out? >> i wish i knew. >> isn't that the real fail snur if this guy's an animal, repeat offender and an obvious threat, shouldn't he be bibehind bars? >> everybody's hollering about space, bring the complain gang back. let's have somebody held accountable instead of patting him on the back and instead of say you need more probation. he had no business being on the street attacking this women. >> i'm sure many understand your frustration and appreciate your outage. some think what you're suggesting is vigilante justice, having citizens carry weapons and they could make a bad call, couldn't they? >> a police officer could make a bad call, for that matter. i'm certainly not advocating vigilante justice. i'm advocating law-abiding citizens who meet the criteria, want to arm themselves do so and be trained by a professional and protect their rights. >> the brady campaign, as you know, a group here in washington, named for the former white house press secretary, james brady, advocates strict gun control across the country. the website gives south carolina a ten out of 100 points on gun control and says, south carolina has weak gun laws that feed illegal gun market and allow the sale of guns without background checks. we asked them about what you said, sheriff, in response this crime and they said, to tell a woman to carry a gun is tantamount to telling her to put herself at much greater risk for being shot and killed. sheriff wright's suggestion is a bad idea. how would you answer that? >> i would suggest that they pop their head out of the sand and understand that when you make gun laws for control, only the law-abiding citizens are going to abide by them and all of the thugs out here raping women and robbing people and shooting them, that's the reason why they are able to put all of these programs on tv, world's dumbest with guns because they have them there, so only people that it's going to affect when you do gun control is law abiding citizen. >> any impact on crime? >> we had a gentleman six weeks ago followed by two noncompliant gentlemen, i'll leave it at that, they came up to him in his own driveway, followed him friend atm arc approached him in his own driveway, threatened to hurt or kill him with a crowbar. the gentleman that was accosted had a concealed weapons permit, killed the gentlemen and shot at the other one and i didn't have to tell his family that he was killed for $65. so that guy won't be a repeat offender anymore. i'm certainly not advocating everybody should die that commits a crime. there comes a point in time where you have to defend yourself and don't be so naive to think the police can be everywhere. i'm the sheriff of a large county, i'd lake to be everywhere, but i'm not going to blow smoke in your ear and tell you everything's great when it's not. >> one of the debates here in washington the president wants to have this jobs bill that would give states and communities more money to keep police on the books. in terms of resources, you say you can't be everywhere, i appreciate that, do you have the same amount of men, more men, fewer than than you did five years ago. >> we've increased our numbers a small amount, 1%, 2%. but putting a cop on every corner is still not going to solve crime. >> sheriff chuck wright of spartanburg, south carolina, appreciate your time tonight. >> thanks for let'sing me be on. circle back to our top story. potential fallout over sexual harassment allegations over the potential presidential candidate herman cain. he says if those who are pushing them trying to hurt his campaign, he's going to prove them wrong. listen. yesterday online we had one of our highest fund-raising days in the campaign. one of the highest ever. so what it has done, i believe, it has backfired on those that are trying to put a cloud over my campaign because they can't shoot down my ideas. >> well, what is the highest ever? the number herman cain just mentioned, that's tonight's number, $400,000. the cain campaign raises $400,000 online just yesterday as allegations were all over the news media for the month of october, the cain campaign says it's had its best month $5 million raised in october. welcome to november. we'll see how that continues. the justice department reveals an alleges plot to attack u.s. citizens. there's a big reason to lower your high cholesterol... dangerous plaque that can build up in arteries over time... high cholesterol is a major factor. but these other health factors can also contribute to plaque buildup. so if you have high cholesterol and any of these other health factors... it's even more important to get your cholesterol where your doctor wants. talk to your doctor about crestor. when diet and exercise alone aren't enough... adding crestor can lower bad cholesterol by up to 52%. and crestor is proven to slow plaque buildup in arteries. crestor is not right for everyone, like people with liver disease... or women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. simple blood tests will check for liver problems. tell your doctor about other medicines you're taking... or if you have muscle pain or weakness. that could be a sign of serious side effects. ask your doctor about high cholesterol... plaque buildup... and if crestor is right for you. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. welcome back. the latest news you need to know now. the justice department announced arrest of four men in georgia calling them members of a fringe militia group. today for the first time a top official at justice department expressed regret of a programs to put u.s. guns into the hand of mexican drug car. the discredited operation, fast and furious and an earlier program called wide receiver were supposed to uncover illegal weapons smuggling. >> i regret that in april of 2010 that i did not draw the connection between wide receiver and fast and furious. and moreover, i regret that even in earlier this year that i didn't draw that connection. >> secretary of state hillary clinton's mother, dorothy rodham died today, she was 92. next, here, score one for consumer outrage. one of the biggest banks just decided to let you keep a bit more of your money. daddy, come in the water! [ gnome ] awwwwwwww. i just feel bloody awful. she told tiffany, stephanie, jenny and becky that she was coming to a place like this! but somebody didn't book with travelocity, with 24/7 customer support to help move them to the pool daddy promised! look at me, i'm swimming! ♪ [ gnome ] somebody, get her a pony! [ female announcer ] the travelocity guarantee. if your booking's not right, we'll help make it right, right away. from the price to the room to the trip you'll never roam alone. [ cellphone rings ] cut! [ monica ] i have a small part in a big movie. i thought we'd be on location for 3 days, it's been 3 weeks. so, i used my citi simplicity card to pick up a few things. and i don't have to worry about a late fee. which is good... no! bigger! bigger! [ monica ] ...because i don't think we're going anywhere for a while. [ male announcer ] write your story with the new citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries. get started at citisimplicity.com. "erin burnett outfront" is coming up at the top of the hour. the little guy wins one, bank of america dropping $5 debit card fee after customer complaints. does that mean consumer outrage wins? >> i think it does, and this is an issue, john, i've had a real issue with banks doing this, they've started to do it this spring, test thing like atm fees at banks, you know, jpmorgan tested $5 one if you went to bank of america atm. this is a debit card fee. the banks said they needed to do this to make up for added costs of financial reform. looking at all of the analysis out there, there are added costs and there's a shift how people account for credit card transactions. however, the numbers that i've seen, and we've looked into this for bank of america, analysis i saw by credit suisse first boston, analysts said they would make more because of atm fees and dib deb it's card fees after the financial reform than they did before. they didn't have much of a leg to stand on. customer revolt, molly catchpole started the online petition and stuck with it and i think it really shows that it made a difference. so a win there for customers but i would say, john, be careful because you don't know where the fee will materialize. >> they try to find a new way. what else? >> i know you've been talking about herman cain and how one of the women who was involved in this settlement or agreement as he calls it, her lawyer now says that she should be released from her agreement with the national restaurant association and able to give her side of the story, we're going to get the legal background of that, whether it can happen what she might have to say. obviously, really important for herman cain and then we're going to be talking about a story that captured my attention today, john, that flight that left newark and flew to war saw poland, all of the landing gear fail on the 767, and that is the belly landing. imagine being on that plane? >> whew! >> we'll talk to captain sullenberger, the other man in charge of the other famous landing. apparently, they can't remember a time when you've seen landing all three sets of landing gear, all backups fail on a being 767 but that's what we saw there. we'll talk to him and find out what really happened on that plane. >> you got the right guy to explain, a, what the book says and b, how the heart pounds when you're doing it. >> it's a nightmare. we'll see you soon. >> thank you. herman cain's inconsistent explanations about the sexual harassment allegations made against him in 1990s are they hurting his efforts of damage control? and how much might this hurt his campaign? joining us from new york, ed rollands will, billie tucky, with me cnn contributor, donna brazile. i want to go straight to you first, someone out there in touch with the grassroots as we've seen mr. cain rise in the polls, one of those is the tea party group. what do they make of this? >> they love herman cain. he's great. he's one of us. he's just a normal guy who actually lived the american dream and that's why they love him so much. >> and the conversations in the last 24 hours or so about the allegations, people concerned, do they want to hear a better explanation, satisfied with his explanation? >> well, they're not really happy about it at all. and it's a little bit of a different take, john. they feel like this is another political hit. people just want to talk about the issues and don't want all of the stuff drug up from someone's past. people aren't really siding with other side on this. they're probably going to side with herman cain. >> and it is an interesting perspective. ed, if you were listening at top, brent and roland were going at it, you heard what conservatives are saying this is a smear campaign by the democrat or the left, a report in the news organization, there's a stretch where it came from, but if you look at drudge report the front page of the drudge report, it says obama/cain, is america red. >> what do you attribute this? is this a smear campaign? is this the left going after an african-american conservative? >> i don't know. i don't know anything but what i've read and the bottom line is a number of years ago he did something, he can't remember what it is. he may before it's all through or we may have one of the other participants telling the story. the critical thing in crisis management, which i do a lot of, tell the truth, and i tell you having done this for a long, long time, almost every indication the version of the truth -- i'm not saying this is herman's side -- the version of the truth your client is telling you is not the version of the truth that ends uppening the story. from his per spec tive, whatever the story is, however he gets it out, finds out about it, get it out, tell it one time, stick with it, move on. this is an untraditional came pan. he's obviously a popular guy, a big personality, a lot of people like him. we'll see where it goes. >> donna, where do you think it's going? >> this is cain versus cain. this is not the liberal left or blacks, anyone else attacking herman cain, this is herman cain a front-runner in the republican party and he coming unscrutiny from the media and candidates trying to beat him at the polls. i think herman cain should have got in front of the story, he should have been prepared for the questions and he should have, you know, pretty much put out the facts and stuck with them. >> billie tucker makes an important point she does not see fallout at the moment. the baseline by which key can judge this. a new florida university pop conducted by suffolk university, excuse me. choice of republicans for president among florida voters, mitt romney, 25%, herman cain, 24%, gingrich ate 11, governor perry at 9, paul at 5, huntsman at 2%. herman cain in a statistical tie right now in your state of florida, billie. this poll was taken before these allegations hit the newspapers and hit the television show. so it's a good baseline. we'll back in a week, two weeks and see if mr. cain's going up or down. what do you make of the fact your state, which is important, iowa, new hampshire, south carolina, then it's off to florida, you got a dead heat, romney/cain dead heat. >> well what we make of it is, mitt romney's been campaigning for six years and herman cain hasn't been out there that long. he's pretty neck and neck with him. he's resonating with the grassroots. grassroots want ant opportunity to have their own candidate and herman cain is at the top of the line. >> ed, this is -- continue state by state, not just national, herman cain is proving he's a force in the race. a lot of us at this a while, we say does he have the infrastructure, an organization, can he sustain it? is he going to prove us wrong? >> who knows? know of this matters at this point in time. florida, ten big media markets, it's very similar, i grew up in california, it's similar to california, it's a mini nation, i think what the poll, this poll indicates is reflective of the national poll, 25% do not want romney andnary narnary they're fine somebody else. right now it's herman cain. to a certain extent, the infrastructure television, all of those kind of things matter as we move closer to voters voting. right now it's all about polls which are picking up a telephone, who do you like? list of names. on youly fourth of voters like herman cain today. >> he's a likable guy, donna, he plays that up and he's a likable guy. a great communicator. he's in the brands business, when he's in the business xhu s community and he's branded himself. when you look at these numbers what is the test for sustain ability. >> you can lead in the polls today but the bottom line is, do you have the organization to win? it's about recruiting delegates. it's about being able to put together an organization. cain has shown that he's likable, he's likable. he's been a doll in the religious right and conservative movement now for more than a decade. can he weather this current storm? can he weather the storms to come and win the republican nomination? >> billy tucker, does this matter to you? they also asked in this poll, obama versus romney. it's a dead heat. 42/42 in the state of florida. sometimes it decides presidential elections. sometimes made by 500 votes or so. 42/42 there. if you do obama versus cain it's 42/39. that's pretty close. mr. cain still pretty close. governor romney a tiny bit stronger discipline that matter when you talk to people? are they looking at the general election matchups or is this about ideology, i want a guy who supports me and my issues? >> they want a guy that supports us. that's what it is because we really are tired of all the establishments picking and choosing who the winners are going to be. we want our voice heard and it will be heard this time. >> and if you look at this poll, ed, i want to put up the statewide poll again if you could. we see this in just about every poll. if you view this as a horse race, ed rollins, and you got romney, cain and gingrich if you are governor perry, how do you get around? you have to pass a few people to get back up to be in contention for the front. he's had a tough stretch here. >> he has. and the advantage he has is he's a guy sitting there with $20 million. he's got operatives that know how to put a team together. you know, obviously, newt has come back. i think he's a viable candidate. he doesn't have an organization or structure yet. cain doesn't have an organization and structure yet. we'll see. it's a long ways to go before voters actually cast votes. plenty of time to do that for these four, five that have the money, the resources, the volunteers, the organizations. several of those candidates on that list don't have those abilities to do that. and, obviously, the tea party can't support five different candidates. i think at this point in time they've chosen mr. cain as their candidate. >> and will that stick, billy tucker? what's the buzz about governor perry? >> well, there's a lot of buzz about cain, newt and perry. so right now, whenever we answer our phone at the tea party office, people are saying, i want to get involved in all three of those campaigns. so the grassroots, they are ready to go. they are just looking for the right person. and we feel like by the time january rolls around that we'll have that person. we'll know who it is. >> i want our democrat to weigh in on this. david axelrod is the president's top political adviser out in chicago getting the campaign up and running. here he does a washington times affiliated radio show. "america's morning news." we've been trying to figure out. it was hope and change in 2008. what will the slogan be in 2012. listen to david axelrod. >> i think he came to office at a time of tremendous challenge for this country. you know, the economy was in free-fall. and we had two wars. and, you know, someone said to me the other day, you know, his slogan should be "gm is alive and bin laden is dead." does that fit on a bumper sticker? >> well, look. i think obama has a great deal of accomplishment. he can go back and tell the american people the things that he was able to fix and the things that he would like to continue to work on in his next term. it's about vision, and i think the president will have that. >> that's not "morning in america." >> no, it's not -- >> it's truthful. >> the most telling thing, a republican has to win florida in order to win. either one of our front-runners is really in a dead heat with him? i think it's a weakness of him. >> ed rollins, billy tucker, donna brazile. president obama rolled out the red carpet today for local news anchors. critics call it a political ploy. who got an invite? you might be surprised. that's tonight's truth next. pos taste great. but did you know they're good for you too? they're high in vitamins and potassium. and idaho potatoes are now certified to carry the heart checkmark from the american heart association for foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol. so they're good for my family, and for yours. heart smart idaho potatoes. always look for the grown in idaho seal. who's she? new downy unstopables. here to shake up your fresh. like a cheerleader on espresso. toss these little scent boosters in before you wash. and the fresh scent will last until you're ready to wash again. [ buzzer ] [ laughing ] [ both sniff ] and this fresh scent will last? it's like you shoved a rainbow up your nose. i should go. new downy unstopables. the fresh too feisty to quit. call it the audacity of incumbency or maybe the rose garden strategy on steroids. all around america tonight, local news stations are speaking these words. we're live from the white house. take a look. the obama administration rolling out the red carpet today for selected local news anchors. being live from the white house meant this. broadcasting from the south lawn. an interview with the president. a chance to chat with members of the cabinet and a white house staffer from the home town of each of those stations. lunch with david plouffe. a first floor white house and garden tour and a chance to ask a question at the briefing. the perks didn't end there. >> one of the most surprising things, let's just say, whenever the white house dog came out and made a visit to everybody, that was certainly a surprising thing. beau won a lot of hearts and everybody kind of fauned all over him as well. >> now the national news coverage has been anything but fawning. they took an age-old truth to a new level. for a president running for re-election, there's no place like home. ten local stations or media groups invited. and pull out a target state map and you'll get the picture. only texas and nebraska on that map are not obama target states. the omaha station has a lot of viewers across the border in swing state iowa. no apologies from team obama. >> we need to reach americans where they live if you will. to communicate with them via the media that they consume. and in this case, you know, local television is obviously something that a lot of americans rely on. >> incumbents always use the perks of the presidency for political gain. official trips meaning at taxpayer expense more often than not take the from the key battleground states or help offset the costs of political fund-raisers and the like. a president can change the headlines by popping into the rose garden. the rose garden strategy is born of a dynamic as old as the building. the power of the presidency is a potent political weapon. live at the white house today, just the latest twist as team obama takes the rose garden approach to a new level. >> also, just to go in and meet the president face to face is something i've never done in my career. i've done this for 25 years. and i was never granted a one on