Facebook, Twitter, water cooler...totally circumvent the media and go right to the people with whom you have influence.

Yep!

The comparison to the attempted political assassination of Justice Thomas is striking. Those that attempt to equate that event and this with President Clinton are foolish at best. President Clinton was accused by multiple named women who appeared on TV making detailed charges of unsolicited sexual advances, not inappropriate remarks. Mr. Cain may have made inappropriate remarks or used double entendre's; and it's probable that these women felt uncomfortable by it. However, it does not rise to the level of hysteria the left is attempting to generate and truly does demean real workplace harrassment.

I suspect that this will backfire against Cain's critics...in a big way. Politico has reaped tremendous advertising out of this exercise and, as is often the case, will suffer no repercussions if/when the charges are proven false. This story is more a statement of the lack of integrity of journalism, and the willingness to play "gotcha" instead of intellectually serious (if boring) vetting of Presidential candidates. This story dumbs down the process and plays to the tabloid mentality of the public.

Why does the RNC permit so many of these debates to be conducted by left leaning, leftists, marxists, etc.? Obviously the candidates want to get their message out to as many people as possible, and this requires going on CNN, MSNBC, etc. However, this is a race for the Republican nomination. Why not have moderators who can help frame the discussion and responses on issues that are important to Republicans, Conservatives, TPers, libertarians, etc. We allow the Dems to frame the discussion and we lose....duh

100% agree. I am not a fan of Romney, but he has excellent debate skills that continue to outshine most of the others. If there were fewer people on the stage, it might be easier to skewer him on his areas of weakness. I am a fan of Cain, but I think he put himself in danger tonight with poor responses to critique of 999; he should have been way better prepared for the obvious challenges. His response to the Gitmo swap was also poor. His response about not negotiating with terrorists seemed like an after thought. I would have counseled him to say something like, "of course I would consider swapping them all - it's a natural and compassionate thing to consider, yet the overriding consideration has to be that we do not negotiate

First, the waste/fraud/abuse must be addressed. The surest way to do this is is to severely limit the amount of money our Congress has access to..force hard decisions on priorities. 1. Flat Tax for everything over, oh, $40K/yr. - What's the minimum living wage? Maybe that's the floor? No deductions, loop holes..nothing...ALL INCOME over $40K get's hit. Now, should this include investment income, alimony, etc? Once you hit (i.e.) 65 - you're done - you don't pay bupkus. 2. National Sales Tax on all non essential items. 3. Flat tax applies to Corporations (they're people). I agree with the concept of no pay=no vote - but in this scenario we all have some skin in the game. Need way more room to explore thoughts on this subject.

We have a taxation and a spending problem.

I find myself leaning towards support of Mr. Cain. However, it remains to be seen how he will respond to being directly attacked as Mr. Perry experienced. Clearly the lack of a political resume is working to his advantage. I am hopeful that Mr. Cain will rise to the challenge and present constitutional conservatives such as myself with a viable choice. I find the choices from the Republican establishment onerous and while I'd eventually vote for Romney or Perry - I'd rather have an option.

In short.......ditto!