Ginger White apologizes to Herman Cain's wife, kids

Ginger White

/ AP Photo/Greg Bluestein

Ginger White, the woman alleging she had a 13-year sexual affair with Herman Cain, apologized Thursday to Cain's wife and their children for her actions, which could end up putting the nail in the coffin on the Republican businessman's bid for the White House.

"I am not a cold-hearted person. I am a mother of two kids. And of course my heart bleeds for this woman because I am a woman and being in a situation like this can not be fun," White said on MSNBC.

"And I am deeply, deeply sorry if I have caused any hurt to her and to his kids, to his family. That was not my intention. I never wanted to hurt anyone and I'm deeply sorry. I am very sorry," she told host Lawrence O'Donnell.

The candidate is set to meet late Friday with Gloria Cain for the first time since White's allegations became public to decide whether to press on with his campaign.

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Asked by the New Hampshire Union Leader if he would drop out of the race if Gloria asked him to, he immediately said he would.

"Yes. But my wife wouldn't ask me to get out. She wouldn't ask me to get out. I would make a decision based upon how all of this stuff is affecting her. Because I will put her first. But she is not the type to say: you ought to get out," Cain said.

Cain's standing in public opinion polls was falling after revelations that he been accused of sexual harassment and engaging in inappropriate behavior with several women.

But the revelation Monday that Ginger White claimed to have had a long-standing affair with Cain changed the minds of many Cain backers who had been on the fence, including two New Hampshire state lawmakers who were backing Cain and jumped ship to support former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Just eight percent of likely Republican voters at the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses support Cain, according to a poll released Friday by the Des Moines Register. That is about a third of the 23 percent support Cain had just over a month ago.

Cain said he would "reassess" his candidacy as his campaign donations plummet. The former Godfather's Pizza chief executive did not cancel a campaign stop in Rock Hill, S.C., Friday that is scheduled to take place before his meeting with his wife in their home near Atlanta. He did cancel a planned Friday night appearance at the Atlanta Athletic Club.

White said the affair was purely sexual and not about love and neither ever said "I love you" to the other.

"It wasn't a love affair. It was a sexual affair, as hard as that is for me to say and as hard as it is for people to hear it. You know, it pretty much is what it is. And that's what it was," she told MSNBC.

Cain and White have both said he gave her money to help her pay her bills as she struggled financially. Cain says their relationship was merely a "friendship."

Earlier in the week, in an interview with ABC's George Stephanopolous, White said "this was not sex for money."

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Herman Cain on the campaign trail

[JV1970]

It's strange to me that it's taken her 13 years to come forward with her story and to apologize. She waited until Cain was running for president and at the top of the polls. I also don't know how she was able to look Cain's wife in the eye all of those years. Why did it take her 13 years to apologize?

[mjvx2]

Hang in their Ginger. We appreciate you coming forward.

[Nakiaz]

I'm still waiting to hear what weapon he used to force her to do this. Not saying he is right by any mean, they are two peas in a pod. Dirty laundry belong in a washing machine!!!! Why would any self respecting woman go public with details of what she was thinking while being intimate with someone. Just goes to show how low down and dirty she is also. CLASS-LESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No-one can treat us in anyway we do not allow, shame on him and shame on her!!!!!!!!

[endrepubs]

She is famous now. I think that is why she came out. Get some cash out of it.

[Nakiaz]

That she is.........

[OnConditionOfAnonimity]

I finally figured out why this lady came forward. Ol'e Herman told her she was special and when the other accusers came out and spoke of their occurrences with Herman, and their timeline's matched up to what she remembered, she realized that Herman played her like a piano. Obviously, she cared for the old boy and well, there's nothing like the wrath of a woman scorned. A lesson we all learn sooner or later.

[Angela2468]

THIS ENTIRE "NEWS" STORY REEKS AND IS REMINISCENT OF DAN RATHER'S SIMILAR SHODDY REPORTING OF GEORGE W BUSH'S EXPERIENCE IN THE MILITARY, WHEN HE REPORTED A STORY (RIGHT BEFORE THE ELECTIONS!) WITHOUT CHECKING HIS FACTS AND HIS SOURCES. HEADS ROLLED BECAUSE OF IT.

NOW, YEARS LATER...ALL THE REPORTERS AND ALL THE NEWS CHANNELS ARE DOING THIS TYPE OF REPORTING, AND THEY THINK IT'S OKAY.

SINCE WHEN IS IT OKAY TO CONTINUALLY REPORT RUMORS LIKE THEY WERE PROVEN FACTS, UNLESS THEY ARE TABLOIDS?? THIS IS WHY THE NEWS IS LOSING THEIR CREDIBILITY AND THEIR RATINGS. PEOPLE ARE LEAVING IN DROVES....

This is sad day, not only for Herman Cain, but for America, for the people did not realize what a great leader we almost could have had... may God have mercy upon those who took part in spreading these falsehoods without checking their facts.

[opininatedinflorida]

Ginger White has nothing to apologize for. She did not promise to be faithful to Gloria Cain. Herman did. She did not promise to be a goddfather and set a role model to be a church going man and a man of morals to his children. Herman did. Herman Cain is a predator who hunts for women in desperate situation and exploits them. Ginger White should not apologize. Herman Cain should apologize. Period. He is a disgrace to men like my husband who are faithful and come home ever night, my husband has no "secret friends", my husband takes time for our children, and has never been accused of the thing Herman has been. IT IS HERMAN WHO SHOULD BE APOLOGIZING NOT GINGER. And to MR CAIN A PERSONAL NOTE. AS PART OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC YOU SPEAK OF I FOR ONE AM DISGUSTED WITH THIS WHOLE MESS. YOU CAN NOT RUN YOUR OWN HOUSEHOLD HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO RUN THE WHITE HOUSE?

[boxerpaws56]

this lady and the ppl who paid her to lie are a disgrace. Don't worry now that Herman Cain has suspended his race you won't hear from White again. She did what they paid her to do. And anyone stupid enough NOT to check the FACTS,THE TIMELINE and the "PROOF"(OR LACK OF)deserves to be fed more lies. As they say,FOLLOW THE MONEY. What this whole story needs is a good PI and a day in court. The media is garbage anymore. The best thing anyone can do is turn off the news cos it aint news anymore.

[jnursedeb]

Excuse Me, but the one thing that disgust me more than a cheating husband is the woman who knows hes married and has the affair with him. Ms. White must have the morals of an alley cat, so why is she any better than the man she accused. In my opinion I guess a lot of money would prompt any alley cat to go on National tv and tell the world of her "very Loose morals". The definition of a prostitute is "A woman/man who takes money in exchange for sex" I wonder if this applies in this case. And for Mrs White never wanting to cause any pain to Ms. Cain or her children, makes me want to vomit. She knew exactly what she was doing, and I am sure if you follow the trail there probably is a lot of money exchanged for her statement, If shes really a good hearted woman who did not want this to happen, she should have kept her "britches zipped" just as Mr. Cain should have and more than that, she should have kept her mouth shut. She exposed herself on national television as "in my opinion" a woman who has the morals of an alley cat and "In my opinion" will tell a story to whoever gives her the biggest dollars. I cannot believe that opininatedinfloridad, is actually defending this woman. Look her up, see the lawsuit she lost, and why she lost it. And if she said she told this because she couldn't live with her conscious, well she lived with till the gifts quit coming. Give me a damn break. I still respect Herman Cain and do not really believe little miss "give me the money and I will tell you what you want to hear.

[kawefjkasekludnasebf]

There was no love involved, just sex for him and money for her. But it was not sex for money. Wait, what?

[boxerpaws56]

you mean to tell me some totally unknown woman with a very questionable background just gets on tv and accuses someone and that's it? That's all you have to do? Of course she's gonna say there was no love involved. That way she doesn't have to provide proof of even having this supposed affair. How bout some ppl with BRAINS check the facts in this story. They don't pass the smell test. I forgot though.You just to accuse and it's good enough. Why bother with a detail like FACTS which is supposed to be what the media actually does. She'll vanish now. The story will die. Cain suspended campaign.Move along now folks.Nothing more to see because the media did what they were supposed to do and this lady got her little lie out there. That's it. Somewhere along the line she gets some cash in hand if she hasn't already and has probably put it in an account of a third party. So no will know. She needed money.Trust me,she got it.

[IdislikeGovernmentGreed]

They need to drop these electoral vote states and out law these caucus meetings allowing only state voters to vote with no influence one way or the other and as far as Cain goes he's the pig and deserves what happened to him mr pretty boy wanna be..Seen enough of his kind in the army ...wonder how many unaccounted for kids he left behind...

[boxerpaws56]

here's some of the facts that get left out since the focus is on the accusation and that's all that matters,right? Supposedly Herman Cain took her to a Mike Tyson boxing match. That must have been interesting bc in the time period they attended this match Tyson was banned from boxing. Now let's look at another interesting time period when Herman Cain was battling stage IV Cancer.My mom battled stage 4 and trust me between the chemo and radiation etc. you're not doing much of anything. You're ill. So that must have been some pretty fancy footwork.

Let's see these messages.How many were to Cain-not from Cain?
and then there's that really hot and heavy only sex message in the book re friendship.Maybe 2 lines. I can't believe you ppl have someone make an accusation and bc it's in the media it MUST be the truth. What happened to checking the facts? This wasn't about facts ppl. This was about destroying a man about to possibly become Pres. and ppl who worked hard to get him there.
This was about a marriage with kids and grandkids. To these ppl it was about destroying a candidate with large target on back.
So what if there are a few things she said that didn't add up.

[johndaniel619]

Mrs White is a filthy, low life, degenerate pig of a human being.