While in Iowa the past few days, I took the time to visit the Cain headquarters (props to the Cain campaign for allowing me to check out the headquarters to my heart’s content; not every campaign is so friendly to reporters). What I found out was an operation unruffled by the allegations and convinced that Iowa supporters would remain committed to a Cain candidacy. From my piece on the homepage today:
As I am talking to one of the volunteers, there is the first hint of the controversy that has embroiled the campaign. Cain’s Iowa director, Larry Tuel, strolls over and introduces himself; after I tell him I’m with National Review, he remarks, “It’s a good publication. I think it’s a little more normal than let’s say — oh, let me think — Politico, for example. You get some facts before you publish, don’t you?”
Later on, in Tuel’s office (on the side of the facility closest to the Michele Bachmann campaign’s Iowa headquarters, which is directly across the small street), he explains his frustration with the media. “This story’s been known about,” he says. “It’s not like this just popped up. I know reporters that have known about it for weeks and weeks. And all of a sudden when Mr. Cain gets to the top of the polls, ahead of Romney — 29–23 in one — then the story breaks. The timing, to me, is odd.”
Read the rest here.