A new poll of the Republican primary shows businessman Herman Cain was starting to slip nationally before Monday’s press conference in which a fourth woman, Sharon Bialek, made sexual allegations against Mr. Cain. The former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza is tied with former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney at 21 percent in a national poll conducted from Wednesday to Sunday.
Americans haven’t been riveted on news stories over the past week that two women who worked at the National Restaurant Association while Cain led the trade group were given cash settlements after filing complaints about his behavior. Those polled are evenly split between those who are following the news closely and those who aren’t….They also aren’t sure whom to believe: 47% say the accusations are probably false, 33% say they are probably true. Just a handful are convinced one way or another….Still, the survey makes it clear that most view sexual harassment as a serious matter that would disqualify a presidential contender from consideration. If accusations were proved, 53% say they definitely would not vote for that candidate; 42% say they would still consider supporting him or her.
