Will Cain Harassment Allegations 'Suck Oxygen' Out Of GOP Debate?

07:59

November 09, 2011

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain addressed the media Tuesday, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP)

Wednesday's GOP debate in jobs-starved Michigan was supposed to focus on economic issues, with the candidates, including Michigan native son Mitt Romney, on the defensive for opposing the federal bailout of General Motors and Chrysler.

But the charges of sexual harassment against frontrunner Herman Cain now loom large over the debate. Cain rival and former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman said the issue is "sucking all the oxygen out of the room, depriving the people of this country from a conversation about the issues that really do matter."

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Guests:

Jay Newton-Small, national political correspondent for Time Magazine
Micheline Maynard, of Changing Gears, a public radio project with WBEZ Chicago, Michigan Radio and ideastream

This segment aired on November 9, 2011.