USA: Americans react to news that Republican Herman Cain has suspended his Presidential bid

Record ID: 346425

  • Title: USA: Americans react to news that Republican Herman Cain has suspended his Presidential bid
  • Date: 4th December 2011
  • Summary: VISITOR CANDACE MILLS WITH HER FAMILY SITTING ON A BENCH IN THE PARK ACROSS WHITE HOUSE
  • Embargoed: 19th December 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa, Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Politics,People
  • Reuters ID: LVAC30RI5KIXVZNIMLB0ARDV2DCV
  • Story Text: Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain effectively ended his White House bid on Saturday (December 3) under the weight of accusations of sexual harassment and marital infidelity.
    In Washington D.C, visitors to the White House reacted to his announcement, with many saying he should have stepped down sooner.
    Columbia, Maryland residents Anna and Michael Quinn said the suspension of Cain's campaign didn't come as a surprise.
    "It's totally expected that he would do this, and he should have never run with this many skeletons in the closet, and he put his ego in front of his family, so he should have never been a candidate," Anna Quinn said.
    "It's a shame for him personally. He was never a serious candidate. It's a good thing he's out of the race," Michael Quinn added.
    Some said the former pizza magnate brought a new voice into the political discourse. Cain's affability and impressive life story was a plus for potential voters, and his simple message of economic revival, built around the catchy "9-9-9" tax plan, caught on during a series of televised debates.
    Indiana resident Candace Mills said she thought Cain was honest and stood by his beliefs.
    "The man stepped up and whether you liked him or not, what he had to say, he would stand by it and he would say it." Mills said. "It's kind of, I thought, refreshing, that we didn't have just the mainstream, generic, cookie-cutter candidate."
    After jumping into the front-runner position two months ago, Cain had been in a free fall in the past month. His support in Iowa, which holds the first U.S. nominating contest on January 3, stands at 8 percent.
    Princeton, New Jersey resident Jane MacLellan said she was surprised Cain had not stepped down sooner, adding that his campaign, that ultimately unraveled after a series of sexual harassment allegations, did not appeal to women voters.
    "His staying as long as he has has created a lot of damage and it's an especially unfortunate situation for women that he even stayed beyond the first several accusations."
    Cain's departure shapes the wide-open Republican race more clearly into a matchup between former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and surging rival Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
    Visitor Chris said Cain's suspension of his campaign was "overdue" and said he believed his chances at a Republican nomination were slim from the start.
    "Not at all. No way, because the competition with Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich is much stronger than he would---he wouldn't persevere anyway," Chris said.
    Reuters/Ipsos poll data released earlier this week showed Gingrich and Romney would benefit most if Cain quit.
    Support for Romney and Gingrich would rise by 3 percentage points each, against the 1- or 2-point bumps Cain's departure would give some of their rivals for the nomination.
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