Cain may find pot of gold at end of campaign trail

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The campaign trail did not end at the White House for Herman Cain, but it might yet lead him to a pot of gold.

The former restaurant executive and motivational speaker could translate his sudden fame into hefty speaking fees and a nationwide talk-radio audience now that he has abandoned his campaign, according to executives in the public speaking, broadcast and publishing industries.

Industry experts say that post-campaign, Cain could triple his speaking fee to more than $50,000 - nearly as much as charged by Newt Gingrich, the current front-runner in the Republican nomination race.

"He's crossed into the celebrity speaker status now," said one executive with 25 years of experience in the public speaking industry.

Bigger prizes, like a television talk show or a lucrative book deal, are less likely due to his messy exit from the race and relatively short tenure in the public eye, agents and executives say.

Still, Cain's roller-coaster bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, which ended on Saturday amid allegations of sexual harassment and infidelity, has opened up plenty of opportunities.

"Cain is worth more money now than he was before," said Michael Harrison, the publisher of Talkers, a trade publication that covers the talk-radio industry.

Cain has amassed considerable wealth over his career as a business executive. His most recent financial disclosure form put his net worth between $2.9 million and $6.8 million.

He has remained mum since dropping out of the race, though he has signaled that he might endorse another candidate within days. Former campaign officials are setting up a website called The Cain Solutions to promote policies like his "9-9-9" tax reform, according to ABC News.

For moneymaking ideas, he can look to others who have earned millions after leaving politics.

Former President Bill Clinton received a $15 million advance for his memoirs. Former President George W. Bush has made at least that much in speaking fees since leaving office in 2009, according to the Center for Public Integrity.

Even those who lose elections can win big paydays.

Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee in 2008, earned at least $12 million from speeches and television and book deals in eight months after quitting as Alaska Governor in July 2009, according to ABC.

Cain is not likely to reach that level of success - he has never held public office, and he dropped out of the presidential race before the first votes were cast.

The allegations of sexual harassment and infidelity that drove him from the race could also hamper his prospects if he does not resolve the issue, either by admitting guilt and apologizing or producing proof that they are unfounded, a Republican strategist said.

"If he wants to be a public figure, to max out his potential he needs to deal with that issue," said Rick Tyler, a former aide to Gingrich.

A NATIONAL AUDIENCE

Cain earned roughly $100,000 per year as host of a conservative talk radio show in Atlanta before he launched his presidential bid, according his personal disclosure form.

Cain was a skillful broadcaster but not widely known within the industry, said Harrison, the Talkers publisher. Now he could appeal to a national audience.

"I think he's got what's known as presidential pixie dust all over him," Harrison said.

A new book would give Cain a chance to boost his profile as well but several publishing-industry executives said his appeal is limited at this point.

The market for political books tends to track the popularity of their authors, and Cain could be a marginal figure by the time a new book would reach shelves a year from now.

"I'd be very surprised if we're still talking about Herman Cain in six months," said Peter Osnos, editor at large of Public Affairs Books, which has published books by Vladimir Putin and George Soros.

Cain's autobiography, "This Is Herman Cain! My Journey to the White House" has sold about 32,000 retail copies since it was released in October, but sales have dropped sharply in recent weeks along with Cain's poll standings. That is a respectable figure, according to one publishing executive who spoke on condition of anonymity, but far short of the 115,000 retail copies that Gingrich's latest nonfiction book has sold since its release in June.

Cain's publisher, Threshold Editions, said there are 155,000 copies of his autobiography in print, but declined further comment.

Cain's prospects in television are likewise murky.

The sexual allegations by five women are not enough to keep him off the air, several industry experts said - after all, CNN hired Eliot Spitzer after a prostitution scandal drove him from the New York state governor's office.

But Spitzer's brief tenure on the air showed that staying on the air can be as difficult as getting there in the first place.

Cain's skills as an orator and broadcaster are offset by high-profile gaffes - such as his cringe-inducing inability to state a clear policy on Libya. It is not clear whether he would have the depth to cover a range of topics or the discipline to succeed in a tightly scripted, highly produced environment such as a television talk show, several experts said.

"He could be a novelty act at the beginning, but then at a certain point he'd have to have substance," said Bill LaPlante, executive director of Media Alliance, an agency for television journalists.

Even so, it is possible he could get a shot.

"You can't apply science and rationality to it, because science and rationality don't matter - it's show business," said Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University.

Cain's campaign reported $1.3 million in cash at the end of September, the last period for which data is available, with $675,000 in debts. Cain saw an uptick in fundraising as his popularity increased and raised several million dollars in October, according to his campaign.

(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

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Cain campaign crumbling after affair allegation

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential contender Herman Cain told aides on Tuesday he would reassess the viability of his struggling campaign after an Atlanta woman accused him of conducting a 13-year extramarital affair.

The allegations could be the end of the political line for Cain, who led the Republican White House race barely more than a month ago but has nosedived in polls after a series of sexual harassment charges and campaign missteps.

Cain, 65, denies he had an affair with businesswoman Ginger White, who told an Atlanta television station that her on-and-off relationship with Cain began in the mid-1990s.

In a fundraising email to supporters entitled "Stand With Me," Cain called White a "troubled Atlanta businesswoman" who is pushing a "fabricated, unsubstantiated story."

"I do know Ms. White. I have helped her financially at times over the past few years, just as I have helped many friends and acquaintances throughout the years. I thought Ms. White was a friend in need of a supportive hand to better her life," he wrote.

The former pizza executive told aides in a conference call transcribed by the conservative magazine National Review that he would gauge the impact of the charges over the next few days and see if they created a cloud of doubt in supporters' minds.

"Obviously, this is cause for reassessment," Cain told staff members, adding he would continue his campaign schedule over the next few days.

"The public will have to decide whether they believe her or whether they believe me. That's why we're going to give it time, to see what type of response we get from our supporters," he said.

The news began to take a toll on Cain in New Hampshire, where WMUR television reported that two Cain supporters, state representatives William Panek and Sam Cataldo, will now back Newt Gingrich.

LITTLE TIME BEFORE IOWA

The allegation of an affair comes five weeks before Iowa kicks off the Republican battle for the right to challenge Democratic President Barack Obama, giving Cain little time to resurrect a once high-flying campaign.

In addition to sexual harassment allegations by four women, Cain also has stumbled on the campaign trail. He raised alarm among conservatives with confusing comments about abortion and badly fumbled a question on Libya policy.

His fundraising also appears to have stalled. Aides who crowed about his strong surge in donations in October have declined to answer questions about his cash flow in recent days.

"It's over for Cain. On the heels of everything else, I don't see how you come back from this," Republican strategist Rich Galen said.

Cain's difficulties have opened the door for Gingrich, the former House of Representatives speaker who has zoomed to the top of opinion polls with the support of conservatives hunting for an alternative to the more moderate Mitt Romney in the Republican race.

Conservatives have failed to coalesce around a single candidate this year as several contenders - first U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann, then Texas Governor Rick Perry and then Cain - have risen in polls only to fall back.

'ONE MORE THING'

"I don't see a path to victory for Cain anymore," said Ryan Rhodes, founder of the Iowa Tea Party. "He was already looking at the end of the line, but this is one more thing to finish him."

Gingrich has seen his poll numbers rise as Cain's crumbled. Support for Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, has held relatively steady in the mid-20s in polls for much of the year.

Gingrich, who is in his third marriage, told CBS News the accusations did not disqualify Cain and he should be given a chance to recover.

"Remember, I was supposed to be dead in June and July," said Gingrich, who hit bottom in opinion polls after a mass staff exodus over the summer. "I am not going to go around and declare anybody else dead."

The Cain campaign worked to reassure supporters that the scandal would not end his bid. Steve Grubbs, Cain's Iowa chairman, said he was unaware of any volunteers who had backed away from their support.

He sent state backers a memo reminding them that Democrat Bill Clinton and Republican John McCain survived accusations of extramarital affairs during past races.

"What Herman Cain is going through is not unique," Grubbs told Reuters. "It's certainly a challenge and it's a distraction, but we're weathering the storm."

On the conference call with aides, Cain said the claims of an affair were taking an emotional toll on him and his wife but he promised to wage an upbeat campaign starting with an appearance in Michigan on Tuesday night.

Cain said his planned reassessment was similar to what he did at earlier key junctures in the race.

"During the summer we had to make some reassessments based upon our financial situation," he said. "We also did a reassessment after the Iowa straw poll and we made another reassessment after the Florida straw poll."

The charge of an affair differs from prior harassment claims in that White says she had a consensual long-term relationship.

White said the two met at a presentation Cain gave for the National Restaurant Association in Kentucky, and afterward the two had drinks. Cain invited her back to his hotel, she said, and the relationship took off.

The woman provided cellphone bills showing calls to a number she said was Cain's personal mobile phone.

(Additional reporting by Kim Dixon; editing by Doina Chiacu and Mohammad Zargham)

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