Paul Will Not Partake in Trump Debate

At least two Republican presidential hopefuls are declining to participate in a debate set to be moderated by real estate mogul and once presidential hopeful Donald Trump.
Texas Rep. Ron Paul and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman will both skip the debate, citing concerns about the seriousness of the event.

In a campaign statement released Saturday, Paul's campaign called the debate a distraction from the real issues of the campaign.
"The selection of a reality television personality to host a presidential debate that voters nationwide will be watching is beneath the office of the Presidency and flies in the face of that office's history and dignity," Jesse Benton, Ron Paul's national campaign chairman, said in a statement.
Benton cited Trump's flirtation with running for president himself as a factor in the decision not to participate in the debate.
"Mr. Trump's selection is also wildly inappropriate because of his record of toying with the serious decision of whether to compete for our nation's highest office, a decision he appeared to make frivolously," Benton said.
Reacting to the Paul campaign's comments, Trump slammed Paul as a non-electable candidate.
"As I said in the past and will reiterate again, Ron Paul has a zero chance of winning either the nomination or the Presidency," Trump said in a statement to CNN. "My poll numbers were substantially higher than any of his poll numbers, at any time, and when I decided not to run, due to the equal time provisions concerning my hit show The Apprentice, I was leading the Republican field." Trump announced in May he would not seek the nomination.
In his statement, Trump said he was pleased to hear that Paul and Huntsman would be skipping the debate. "Few people take Ron Paul seriously and many of his views and presentation make him a clown-like candidate," Trump said. "I am glad he and Jon Huntsman, who has inconsequential poll numbers or a chance of winning, will not be attending the debate and wasting the time of the viewers who are trying very hard to make a very important decision."
Huntsman's campaign said Friday the former Utah governor wouldn't be making an appearance at the event.
"We have declined to participate in the 'Presidential Apprentice' Debate with The Donald," Huntsman spokesman Tim Miller said in a statement. "The Republican Party deserves a serious discussion of the issues so voters can choose a leader they trust to defeat President Obama and turn our economy around."
On Friday, the conservative online publication Newsmax announced they were sponsoring the Trump-moderated debate on December 27. It will be held in Des Moines, Iowa, just days before the state holds its first-in-the-nation caucus.
Candidates for the 2012 GOP nomination have been meeting with Trump since this summer. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, businessman Herman Cain and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann have all met with "The Apprentice" host at least once. On Thursday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said he would be meeting with Trump on Monday.

Cain Suspends Campaign, Effectively Ends Presidential Bid

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain told his supporters on Saturday that he’s suspending his campaign, which has become hobbled in recent weeks by accusations of sexual harassment and an Atlanta woman's claim that her and Cain carried on a 13-year affair.

While he will still be able to raise and spend campaign funds because he did not officially drop out, Cain's White House bid is effectively over. Cain said he came to the decision after assessing the impact that the allegations were having on his wife, his family and his supporters. Cain and his wife held hands as they walked up to the podium where Cain made his remarks in Atlanta. Even as he stepped aside under the weight of the allegations that have dogged him, Cain said that he was at "peace with God" and "peace with my wife."

He repeatedly called the allegations untrue and that the media spin hurts. "I am not going to be silenced and I will not go away," Cain said, announcing what he called his Plan B: A website named TheCainSolutions.com, through which he will continue to advocate for his platform.
His catchy "9-9-9" economic plan is not going anywhere, he said.
He will endorse another of the Republican presidential hopefuls soon, he said.

Recently, Cain acknowledged that Ginger White's allegations of an affair had led to a drop in campaign contributions, and a Des Moines Register poll showed his support among Republican Iowa caucus-goers has fallen to 8%, down from 23% in October.
This week, White told the news media that she and Cain engaged in an on-and-off affair for more than 13 years. She described the affair as "very casual." White issued a statement, through her attorney, after Cain's announcement Saturday.

Two women, Sharon Bialek and Karen Kraushaar had previously accused Cain of sexually harassing them in the 1990s while he was head of the National Restaurant Association. Two other women also have said Cain sexually harassed them while they worked at the association, but they have declined to be identified.

Cain told the Union Leader in New Hampshire that he repeatedly gave White money to help her with "month-to-month bills and expenses." But he denied the relationship was sexual, as White contends. He said the two were friends.

Cain's announcement comes a month before the Iowa caucuses, the first formal test of the primary season, scheduled for January 3.
New Hampshire Republican officials who supported Cain began to survey their options Saturday, with several state representatives saying their support could go to Gingrich or Ron Paul. Cain's most prominent supporter in the state, former GOP state party chair Jack Kimball, said he would wait to learn whom Cain would endorse before making his own decision.

He said in the Thursday Union Leader interview that his wife's feelings, as well as the reaction from supporters and donors, would be important factors in deciding whether he will stay the race.
Cain told the newspaper he would drop out of the race if his wife asked him to, but quickly added that she wouldn't.
Though Gloria Cain rarely makes public appearances or statements, she told Fox News last month that she believed the sexual harassment allegations were "unfounded."