Herman Cain Affair: Republican Candidates Talk About His Future

Ginger White's claim on Monday that she had a 13-year affair with Herman Cain threw a new wrench into the Georgia businessman's beleaguered campaign. In the two days since, many people -- both supporters and critics of Cain -- have questioned whether he should remain in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Cain himself said on a conference call on Tuesday that he was reassessing his campaign, but his chief of staff, Mark Block, said it was a reassessment of strategy, not of whether to end the campaign altogether.

Among Cain's Republican opponents, two -- former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas -- have been conspicuously absent from the public discussion of his future. But several other candidates have voiced their opinions on whether the new allegations mean lights out for the Cain campaign:

Michele Bachmann: I think that they recognize that the support has really dropped out of their campaign because of those questions. ... When it came out yesterday, everyone said this is it, he's done. ... People just don't see that there is an ability for him to be able to come back after that.

Newt Gingrich: Remember, I was supposed to be dead in June and July. I am not going to go around declaring anybody else dead. I think any candidate has the right to try to recover. They have the right to try to get back in the game.

Jon Huntsman: Given the bandwidth that has been taken out of the discussion of any other issues pertinent to this campaign, a reconsideration might be in order. ... Every time another accusation comes up, it diminishes our ability to stay focused on the issues that really do matter for the American people, and I think that's a disservice to the voters.

Rick Perry: He needs to address these allegations. That's the bottom line. He needs to address the allegations, and if they're true, he has to address that with the people of this country.

Rick Santorum: Let's wait and see what Herman decides to do. It's obviously a very troubling allegation, very troubling situation surrounding his campaign.

What do you think? Can Cain recover from these latest allegations? Do you think he is a distraction?