Since sexual harassment allegations emerged against him last month, Republican presidential contender Herman Cain has seen an erosion of support in polls. In an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO conceded that his drop in the polls could be attributed to the allegations and what he views as the false perception that he has been unclear in his policy positions.
“Well, obviously false accusations and confusion about some of my positions has contributed to it,” Cain said when host Candy Crowley brought up an 8-point decline in a recent CNN poll since October. “And that was to be expected. In terms of the campaign itself, nothing has gone wrong in terms of our strategy of spending time in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, and Florida. So in terms of the mechanics of the campaign, nothing has gone wrong. But as you know, Candy, some people are heavily influenced by perception more so than reality. The good news is, most of my supporters, they have stayed on the Cain train, as we say.”
Cain further attempted to clear up what some have claimed to be inconsistencies in his positions on abortion and foreign policy.
“See, that was taken out of context is what I’m saying,” Cain said in response to Crowley bringing up a statement he made on CNN’s “Piers Morgan” which seemed to suggest he didn’t think the government should be involved in the abortion issue. “The interview where it was taken out of context was a highly hypothetical situation and they pulled that out without showing the entire segment. So this is why I’m setting the record straight because confusion has been generated. I’m pro-life from conception.”
On foreign policy, Cain said he disagreed with President Barack Obama on his troop drawdown in Afghanistan.
“Secondly, on foreign policy, my foreign policy philosophy is peace through strength and clarity,” Cain continued. “I’ve been real clear about that. And the other thing relative to foreign policy is that I’ve been real clear about how I disagree with President Obama on the draw-down of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, etc. So I’ve been real clear. But a lot of confusion has been thrown my way and that’s part of the – part of politics, as they say. But it’s real clear where I stand.”
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