Cain survives sexual harassment charges

US: Surprise Republican presidential contender Herman Cain has survived a week-long firestorm after sexual harassment allegations threatened to sink his upstart White House campaign. It is possible more revelations will emerge and torpedo his candidacy, but so far the scandal has done little if anything to dent the enduring appeal of the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza.

Cain, a 65-year-old radio host from Georgia who has never before held elected office and is vying to become the first ever African-American presidential nominee for the Republican Party, continues to defy the odds.

Recent opinion polls have him holding firm alongside former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, the default front-runner for the Republican nomination.

Texas Governor Rick Perry is polling a distant third. After a congenial debate-style event with former speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich on Saturday evening, Cain made it clear he wants to move on and doesn't intend to keep fielding questions about the scandal. "Don't even go there," he warned a reporter.

"No. End of story. Back on message. Read all of the other accounts, where everything has been answered. End of story."

Washington news website Politico broke the story last Sunday that two women had complained of sexual harassment at the hands of Cain when he was head of the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s.

AFP