The Des Moines Register is reporting that the six GOP presidential candidates on Saturday participated in an emotional forum, confessing to foibles, failures and hardships in Iowa.
The two-hour Family Leader event seemed more like a gossipy television talk show, the site says, with tears and emotions overflowing. The influential Iowa-based evangelical Christian advocacy group hoped to draw out personal stories that revealed each candidate's character without the pressure of timers, which are traditional during debates.
It was [Herman] Cain who got the tears flowing.
The retired Georgia businessman, who noted that his wife of 43 years, Gloria, was with him, was overcome with emotion recalling the day he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.
Luntz quietly interjected: “Take your time.”
“I said I wasn’t going to do this!” Cain said, light-heartedly berating himself.
He continued: “It’s as bad as it gets, I will never forget before my wife and I were about to get in the car I said, I can do this…”
Cain paused again. The audience was silent.
“She said, ‘We,’ ” Cain finished, and covered his face with his hand.
He removed his glasses and cleared his eyes with a handkerchief.
With his numbers sliding in recent polls, it's no wonder Cain has been a little weepy, tearing up for the second time this week talking about his wife. But it's a little too late to show a softer side. He's already joked about building electric border fences. And under duress, he recently apologized for a sexist joke about House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. He called her "Princess Nancy."
His slide in the polls is nobody's fault but his.
Read more at the Des Moines Register.