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An unapologetic and defiant Herman Cain suspended his presidential campaign on Saturday, pledging that he “would not go away,” even as he abandoned hope of winning the Republican nomination. Instead, Mr. Cain announced what he called a “Plan B,” continued advocacy of his tax and foreign policy plans.

“As of today, with a lot of prayer and soul searching, I am suspending my presidential campaign,” Mr. Cain said. “Because of the continued distractions, the continued hurt caused on me and my family, not because we are not fighters. Not because I’m not a fighter.”

Mr. Cain, with his wife at his side, adamantly professed Saturday that the accusations of sexual harassment and of a long-term affair that have swamped his campaign were not true. The circus-like atmosphere surrounding Saturday’s announcement – complete with numerous postponements, barbecue, a blues band and supporters in colonial-era dress – was in keeping with the campaign’s irreverence and disarray since its inception: Mr. Cain, a self-styled rebel, announced his intention to run earlier this year at a rally, also in Atlanta, with the nonsensical phrase, “Aw, shucky ducky!”

For days now, the campaign has fueled a “will he or won’t he?” storm of speculation, at once thriving on the media’s attention while denouncing it as the source of Mr. Cain’s plummeting popularity. Mr. Cain’s critics have long posited that he was more interested in creating celebrity for himself – as a means to sell books and increase speaking fees – than in any serious candidacy.

Mr. Cain’s political unraveling was as swift and sudden as his ascent. It began just one month after an unlikely surge in the polls, from the bottom ranks to the top tier of Republican candidates, fueled by the strength of his performance in debates, the novelty of his 9-9-9 tax plan, and his Sept. 24 surprise victory in the Florida straw poll.

With his golden voice and folksy manner, Mr. Cain appealed to voters who sought an anti-establishment candidate. Mr. Cain, 65, grew up in poverty in the segregated South, the son of a janitor and a maid. But beyond his personal charm and rags-to-riches biography, he had an eclectic, intriguing résumé: chief executive of Godfather’s Pizza, conservative radio host and chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Mo.



Toward the end of October, more than one survey found that Mr. Cain, who has never held public office, essentially tied with Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who has had a consistent lead in most polls.

The accusations of sexual misconduct created a frenzy of interest because the issues at hand were sensational: a candidate who professed to be a devout Christian family man, pitching himself to the conservative core of the Republican party, stood accused of a pattern of lewd sexual behavior by several women. And some of the details were graphic.

A Chicago woman, Sharon Bialek, was the first to come forward publicly. Ms. Bialek said that Mr. Cain made an unwanted and rough physical advance on her 14 years ago when he was the chief of the National Restaurant Association. After taking her out for a night on the town in Washington, she said, he suggested she engage with him sexually in return for his assistance in finding a job — seizing her inappropriately when they were alone in a car and running his hand up her skirt.

A second woman went public within days. That woman, Karen Kraushaar, 55, worked in the government affairs office of the restaurant association for a relatively short time from 1998 to 1999, her tenure being cut short, she said, by her run-ins with Mr. Cain and the discomfort it created for her.

Two other women who complained of harassment by Mr. Cain remained anonymous. But one of those women and Ms. Kraushaar both received the equivalent of a year’s salary in settlements from the National Restaurant Association.

From the moment that the harassment accusations were revealed by Politico, on the night of Oct. 30, Mr. Cain, 65, has proclaimed his innocence in the strongest terms possible and sought to cast blame for what he called a smear campaign in a number of different directions. He first accused the liberal news media, then the rival campaign of Gov. Rick Perry of Texas. Ultimately, the Cain campaign conceded that it had no evidence of an orchestrated conspiracy. But still, Mr. Cain’s own version of events surrounding the accusations shifted again and again. Inexperienced on the national stage, he issued an avalanche of confusing and often contradictory statements.

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Polls conducted at the time, however, suggested that the crisis was not eroding Mr. Cain’s standing as a top-tier candidate. He continued to campaign as though he was not at the center of a swirling controversy, ignoring the accusations in speeches and not taking questions on the subject from reporters.

“We’re getting back on message, end of story,” Mr. Cain said after a debate in early November. At no point during the nearly three-hour event, a fund-raiser that began with cocktails, did he address the accusations.

“Don’t even go there,” Mr. Cain warned reporters who clamored to ask him at least one question after the event.

But the accusations of sexual misconduct were not Mr. Cain’s only stumbling block.

The very qualities that endeared Mr. Cain to so many conservatives appeared to begin to undercut his chances, as questions were raised about his management style and foreign policy expertise.

In a videotaped interview with the editorial board of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that went viral on the Web, Mr. Cain became flustered when asked to assess President Obama’s policy toward Libya, raising questions about his command of foreign policy as he lurched over five minutes from awkward pauses to halting efforts to address the issue.

Compared with his rivals, Mr. Cain hardly campaigned in New Hampshire and Iowa. Former staff members complained that he spent the bulk of his time on a book tour through the South when he should have been organizing a grass-roots operation. He occasionally mishandled potential big donors or ignored real voters, former staff members and supporters said in interviews.

Still, the “Cain train,” as he liked to call his campaign, chugged along, drawing spirited crowds who chanted “9-9-9” and “We want Herman Cain!”

As Thanksgiving approached, it seemed as though Mr. Cain might survive his troubles after all. The whirlwind of news about the scandal had died down a bit. And Mr. Cain spent his time off the trail brushing up on foreign and national security issues. But just then, on the Monday after Thanksgiving, a fifth woman, Ginger White, came forward with details of more inappropriate sexual conduct. Speaking to a local television reporter in Atlanta, Ms. White said that she and Mr. Cain had only recently ended a 13-year extramarital affair.

She produced phone records in an effort to prove that they called or texted each other frequently, and he acknowledged giving her financial support — and also, that his wife of 43 years, Gloria Cain, had been unaware of what he insisted was only a friendship.

The day after Ms. White’s revelation, Mr. Cain said he was considering dropping his bid, as leading conservative voices and party leaders began to question his handling of all the women’s claims. And some of his supporters and defenders also began backing away.

On a conference call with staff members and a few big supporters on Tuesday, Mr. Cain said, “It’s also taken a toll on my wife and my family, as you would imagine.”

As of late Thursday, Mr. Cain said that the ultimate decision would rest with Mrs. Cain, with whom he spent Friday night at home in suburban Atlanta.