In the wake of both sexual harassment and infidelity allegations, Republication Presidential nominee Herman Cain suspended his campaign this afternoon, effectively ending his bid for the White House in 2012.
"As of today, with a lot of prayer and soul searching, I am suspending my presidential campaign," Cain said at an Atlanta rally, vowing that "I am not going to be silenced and I am not going away."
Cain cited the "continued distraction" of chatter over Ginger White's claim that she carried on a 13-year affair - during which Cain supposedly showered her with gifts and financial help - with the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza as the basis for his decision.
"These false and untrue allegations continue to be spinned in the media, and in the court of public opinion so as to create a cloud of doubt over me and this campaign and my family," Cain said. "That spin hurts. It hurts my wife. It hurts my family. It hurts me. And it hurts the American people, because you are being denied solutions to our problems."
Even before White rose to national prominence, Cain was under pressure after several other women accused him of sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct in the 1990s when he was the head of the National Restaurant Association.
"One of declarations I want to make to you today is that I am at peace with my God. I am at peace with my wife, and she is at peace with me. And I am at peace with my family and at peace with myself," Cain said.