1. Ginger White describes "casual" affair with Cain
Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, and at right, Ginger White, a Georgia woman who claims the two had a 13-year affair. (CBS/AP Photo)
(AP)
WASHINGTON - An Atlanta businesswoman who has asserted she had a longstanding affair with Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain stood by her story Wednesday despite his denials, saying she was not proud to admit it.
"Our relationship was on and off for the last 13, 14 years," Ginger White said in a nationally broadcast interview. "This was not a consistent love affair that went on every day for the last 14 years, so he is correct when he made that statement."
But White also said she was "disappointed" that Cain had called her a "troubled Atlanta businesswoman."
Cain had described White in that fashion in a letter he sent to campaign supporters Tuesday, saying he was writing to assure them that "this woman's story is completely false."
"I'm not here to say anything negative about Mr. Cain," White said on ABC's "Good Morning America." At the same time, she said she had gone on television "to state the truth," and that she wasn't backing down.
She said her relationship with Cain was "a very casual affair. Am I proud to admit that? No, I am not."
White also said she took several trips with Cain, including a flight to Las Vegas to see a Mike Tyson-Evander Holyfield boxing match.
She also said that she had "consistently" received gifts and money from Cain over the past two and a half years, but added that this was "not sex for cash."
During a conference call Tuesday with supporters, Cain once again denied the affair. "It was just a friendship relationship," he said, according to the transcript. "That being said, obviously, this is a cause for reassessment."
White told ABC she didn't think Cain "would make a good president" but said that she did not come forward because of any political motives. Asked if she thought he should abandon his campaign, White said, "That's something that he has to look himself into the mirror and ask himself."
And she said she had regular communications with Cain "up until last week."
"The truth of the matter is, when I entered into this inappropriate relationship with Mr. Cain, I was single," she said. "I was not married. Mr. Cain has been married throughout this entire relationship."
Asked about phone records showing frequent correspondence with Cain, including text messages, she replied: "You really don't enter into that holding onto receipts, holding onto notes."
"The funny thing about Herman Cain is that never in a million years did he probably think I would speak out on this," White said. "I came out being very honest and so far I have been absolutely humiliated, embarrassed."
2. Why most Republicans don't like Romney
Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in November 2011. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
(MoneyWatch)
COMMENTARY Mitt Romney's got to be feeling pretty low right now. No matter how much he spends and how many years he fights to win the Republican presidential nomination, he seems to be the perpetual "We'll take him if nobody better comes along" candidate.
Sure, he's steadily in the low 20 percent range in national polls, but the reason why we keep seeing big spikes from other candidates is because most Republicans don't feel comfortable with Romney. They'll give him the nomination if they have to, but they're desperately looking for someone better to come along.
The first great hope was Rick Perry, who shot up in the polls and then shot himself repeatedly in the foot by being perhaps the worst debater in history. Then there was Mr. 9-9-9, Herman Cain, but apparent weakness in foreign affairs and possibly other types of affairs have pretty much done him in. Now Republicans are throwing old Newt Gingrich up against the wall to see if he'll stick.
And through it all, powerful right wing forces were trying their damndest to seduce New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and I don't know how many others to run, to no avail. While the GOP does seem to have quite a slate of young up-and-comers, for whatever reason, none of them are willing to try their luck in this particular race.
Like I always say, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, well, then it's probably a duck. Let's not complicate this. Romney certainly looks and acts presidential. He's rolling in dough. He's been campaigning for six years. He's got the political background for the job and the business chops for the big issue of the day, namely the economy. And yet, most folks on the right seem to be having a really hard time pulling the trigger on Romney for president in 2012.
On the surface, that's enigmatic, but if you look more closely, there are four very good reasons why Republicans simply don't like Romney:
They don't think he can beat Obama. Barack Obama may be in trouble, but he's got four very big things going for him. He can raise a billion dollars, he's got the best grassroots operation in history, he's an incumbent president, and he's got a Steve Jobs-like reality distortion field when he's in campaign mode. This is the guy who came out of nowhere in 2008; he can do it again if the Republicans don't offer a compelling alternative.
He lost to McCain in 2008. Sure, he's come a long way since then, but nobody has forgotten that this is the guy who, with more money than God, lost to Mr. Charisma, John McCain, who then got creamed by Obama. It's simple math: If 'a' is greater than 'b,' and 'b' is greater then 'c,' then 'a' is greater than 'c,' right? In case you don't have the decoder ring, 'a' is Obama, 'b' is McCain, and 'c' is Romney.
He's too smooth. A lot of republicans won't admit this, but when Obama was elected, they figured he's the boss so let's get behind him and see if he can't fix the mess we're in. In other words, they tried their best to be optimistic. Well, in their eyes, that didn't turn out so well. And since Romney is charismatic and smooth, promising all the right things -- not unlike our incumbent president -- they're probably wondering if this isn't like The Who song Won't Get Fooled Again: "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."
They don't trust his ideals. Idealistically he seems to blow with the wind. He's been accused of flip-flopping on core issues like health care, climate change, and abortion rights, prompting formerUtah Gov. Jon Huntsman to say, "You can't be a perfectly lubricated weather vane on the important issues of the day." And while Romney relates his private sector experience to job creation, the truth is that management consulting and private equity firms aren't really in the business of creating jobs. So it's easy to see how some people just don't think he's genuine.
This is usually the point where half my readers (guess which half) tell me to stick to business and stay out of politics. Well, here's what I always tell them: The two are inextricably intertwined, especially these days, and leaders are leaders, in business and in politics. Deal with it.
Update 11/30/11 7:30 am: clarified ninth paragraph.
3. Victoria's Secret Fashion Show: Miranda Kerr, Adriana Lima and other Angels walk the catwalk
Model Adriana Lima walks the runway during the 2011 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at the Lexington Avenue Armory on Nov. 9, 2011, in New York.
(Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
(CBS) Victoria's Secret's Angels have donned their wings (among other things) once again for the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
The show was taped earlier this month, but aired Tuesday night on CBS. The night's looks were divided into different themes - superheroes, ballet, passion, underwater, turn-of-the-century New Orleans and "Club Pink," a sparkly homage to the brand's loungewear line.
Pictures: Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2011
Pictures: Celebrities at the show
Pictures: Behind the scenes and backstage
Pictures: Celebrities at the show
Pictures: Behind the scenes and backstage
Miranda Kerr, who missed last year's show because she was pregnant, donned the Fantasy Treasure Bra, a diamond-and-gem-encrusted design worth $2.5 million. Her husband, actor Orlando Bloom, could be seen cheering from the front row when Kerr took to the catwalk. The couple, who married last year, welcomed son Flynn on Jan. 6.
Other models in the show included Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Chanel Iman, Doutzen Kroes, Erin Heatherton, Candice Swanepoel and Lily Donaldson. A new Angel - 19-year-old Karlie Kloss - also made her debut.
Kanye West performed his hit "Stronger," and was joined by Jay-Z later in the evening for a performance from their album "Watch the Throne." Maroon 5 also performed "Moves Like Jagger," and frontman Adam Levine walked the catwalk with model girlfriend Anne Vyalitsyna. Nicki Minaj closed the show with "Super Bass."
The special also took viewers behind the scenes, showing the models getting ready and what happens backstage during the show.
Tell us: Did you watch the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show?
Top 3 T.V. Stories Nov 30, 2011
1) President Obama visited Pennsylvania today. The president knows that he must do well in Pennsylvania in order to win the 2012 election. President Obama spoke about his intention to extend the payroll tax cut and fund it using a tax increase to millionaires. The president is having trouble getting Republicans to agree to fund it by tax increases to the rich. The Republicans support the extension also, but plan to fund it by putting a pay freeze on federal employees.
2) Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich were both campaigning heavily today. Herman Cain says he has not made a decision to stay in the race. He says he will be talking to his family in the ext few days before making a final decision. Although political analyst said the man making the speeches today did not seem like he had any intention of pulling out of the race. Instead, Cain seemed like a man determined t be the forerunner for the Republican Party. Both Republican candidates attacked the president, saying he does not hold the solution for the United States economy.
3) Today 1400 officers evacuated the Los Angels park where the Occupied movement was camped out and 292 arrests were made. The Occupied movement seems to be losing some of the public support they once held, as city by city they are evacuating the movement. Today also marked the end of the Occupied movement's campout in Philadelphia, PA.
