CNBC briefly attempted to make Herman Cain’s sexual harassment imbroglio a part of Wednesday night’s GOP candidates’ debate, but neither Mitt Romney nor the audience took the bait.
For the first 20 minutes, the subject went untouched, but then host Maria Bartiromo asked Cain whether the American people should hire a President if they feel he has character issues.
The crowd immediately began to boo, and Cain’s response echoed the message he delivered in a press conference on Tuesday.
“The voters deserve better than someone being tried in the court of public opinion based on unfounded accusations,” Cain said.
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Despite the recent questions about Cain's character and candidacy, he seemed confident his popularity remains unchanged.
“This country’s looking for leadership and this is why a lot of people, despite what has happened over the last nine days, are still very enthusiastically behind my candidacy,” Cain said.
Bartiromo then tried to get Romney to weigh in on the subject, asking whether he, as a businessman would have fired Cain if he were his CEO.
Romney said Cain dealt with the question and declined to answer further.
This time, the crowd applauded.
It remains to be seen how the public will react to Cain referring to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as “Princess Nancy.”