Rick and Newt both out in VA

Well this is depressing. Not so much from the fact that I wanted either of them to win, however more from the concept of now we only have Mittens and Ron Paul on the ballot in VA. That as Hot Air says is enough to make you want to indulge in some seriously hard liquor.

Could Romney lose NH?

In my sporadic watching of news lately apparently there was a seismic shift that I can honestly say that I didn't see coming. When the Cain problems started I wasn't sure who would pick up his supporters but to be honest I never really thought that it could be Newt. Turns out I was probably pretty wrong.

According to a poll from Magellan Strategies in NH, Newt and Romney are now both virtually tied. With Mittens having 29% and Newt right behind at 27%. This is pretty impressive. I still want to see at least one more poll show this just to back it up, but if it's true. Oh the happiness. Mittens entire campaign I believe has always been to have a decent showing in Iowa then storm through NH, and build that air of invincibility. Well if he loses both or just barely covers in NH. Then what?

Combine this with the polls that came out showing Newt in or near the front in IA and you have something that I'm sure the Romney campaign never saw coming. Let's be honest here, none of us really saw Newt's rise coming. His baggage is suppose to be what prevents him from winning right. Well maybe this idea he has of coming out with all of it and laying it on the table is working. Now we get to see what happens when the oppo research really kicks into high gear on him.

Personally I think that the fav/unfav on Newt is pretty impressive in this poll. 59/31 with only 10 saying they don't have an opinion.

One other thing. Only Ron Paul, Newt, and Mitt Romney have favorable ratings. Everyone else is underwater, with the worst being Rick Perry at 21/66/12.

Hermain Cains Fall?

Herman Cain apparently doesn't like us here at The Handbook. Since our backing of him he seems to have gone out of his way to completely destroy his candidacy. Or maybe it's the Democratic Machine that hates us. Then again it could all possibly be coincidence.

UPDATED: Hermain Cains Problems

After the weekend we here at The Handbook had picking college and pro football games we should have known that openly supporting a candidate would probably doom them from the jump. Turns out we aren't completely paranoid.

Now the question becomes, are the allegations true, misconstrued, or completely fabricated. Well apparently there was a NDA signed by both of the women who were supposedly sexually harassed by Hermain Cain. He not surprisingly has come out and said everything is completely false. What else can he do come out and say, "Yup i did it, sorry bout that" cause that wouldn't have went over very well. Although denying it and have it turn out to be true would probably be even worse.

So the second question becomes where did this come from. Politicos source wasn't named and probably isn't coming forward any time soon. Redstate believes that it came from the Romney campaign since he's the only one so far that has shown a willingness to bring something like this out to muddy up an opponent. However Cain hasn't taken much support from Mittens and its not like they are going after the same demographic inside of the GOP anyway. However with our complete distrust and dislike of all things Romney we wouldn't be surprised. Question becomes though if it is proven to be Romney that shoveled this out and it turns out to be false accusations does it hurt Romney. My guess is no, since the people that are backing him are probably the same people that were backing him in 08 and would just call it oppo research.

Next comes the Perry campaign. While it hasn't proven itself to be involved in such things publicly so far Hot Air isn't so sure that it's Mittens and also claims that a witness is has come forward. Seems more likely since the support that Cain has garnered seems to have mostly come from the Perry campaign. They are both going after the social and fiscal con inside the GOP. Of course that could still leave Bachmann and Santorum, but I doubt if either is spending the little money they are bringing in on oppo research like this.

For a palate cleaner Cain is still showing strong support in both Iowa and SC. Does it hold up? I don't know. If the one female is allowed out of her NDA and has something along the lines of a blue dress to prove it all happened the way its been reported then I think Cain is sunk. Of course if this doesn't come out until after he has the nomination sewn up then, well O gets 4 more to ruin everything that is America.

Until proof comes out that he is actually guilty of this and that each of these women weren't paid just to go away on frivolous claims we here at The Handbook will continue our support of the Cain candidacy, that being said if the claims prove to be true, well..



Update: Apparently a third woman has come forward claiming that she was invited back to Cains corporate apartment. To say this looks bad is an understatement however this woman decided not to file the suit back when she knew about the other two already settling their cases. So if this really is true then obviously it wasn't money she was after.

This is from NBC News via the AP

The unidentified woman never filed a complaint but said she considered it, according to the AP. The behavior was characterized as "aggressive" and "unwanted."
The woman spoke to AP only on condition of anonymity, saying she feared losing her current job and the possibility of damage to her reputation. According to the AP, she said that Cain had told her that he had confided to colleagues how attractive she was and extended an invitation to his corporate apartment outside work.
NBC News has not verified her claims.

I know shocking I would read NBC news but I was looking for the worst possible spin of the story.