i'm erin burnett. out front on this friday, the lawyer for herman cain's accuser speaks. >> she made a complaint in good faith about a series of inappropriate behaviors and unwanted advances from the ceo. she and her husband see no value in revisiting this matter now, nor in discussing the matter any further, publicly or privately. >> joel bennett, that's who it was, sawed his client stands by her comments while the cain campaign continues to call the claims baseless. jeffrey toobin is our senior legal analyst. gloria borger is our chief political analyst. great to have both of you with us. let me start with you, gloria. you spoke to the national restaurant association today, and now that the lawyer said all right, the woman, multiple events but she doesn't want to give details, doesn't want to give her name. but now that the national restaurant association has allowed her to speak, does that now mean any day, any day, anytime for the next -- >> she could. >> anytime, right? >> yeah. but she's not going to. which -- it's clear that the restaurant association allowed her -- released her from her pledge of confidentiality and all her lawyer wanted, all joel bennett wanted was to allow them to release this statement. so this woman clearly wanted to be able to say anonymously that herman cain is not right, that there was a basis to her claims of sexual harassment, but she was not willing to go out publicly. so honestly, i don't think this has a lot of impact because this is so non-specific, it doesn't really require a response from herman cain. >> legally, does the fact that she didn't come out with anything specific -- i mean, what does that mean? does that strengthen -- i'm kind of -- i would have thought -- well, i don't know. i've got a personal view on it. >> i think it's a very good day for herman cain. that's the bottom line. >> that's for sure. >> look, i think she made an understandable decision for her own sanity, for her life, she didn't want to get involved, she would be trashed right and left, supported, opposed. but now there's no specifics, no name. i don't see why herman cain has to say anything. i think this is a basically meaningless statement that was issued by the lawyer that doesn't advance the story at all. and i think it just allows him to continue with his campaign. >> all right. so gloria, do you agree with that or do you know say, well, what about woman number two? we haven't heard anything bad. and apparently number three that was alleged. >> well, you know, look, she clearly doesn't want to speak. the woman -- let's call her woman number one. she clearly doesn't want to speak. it kind of makes you wonder why she issued this statement at all, quite frankly. because as jeff says, it doesn't really advance the ball. the question that i have here for -- and i think politically is that going forward people know who these women are. journalists do. at some point the names are going to get out. i mean in the world in which we live. and the question i have is at some point is some woman going to come forward with specific, on-the-record detailed claims which herman cain will have to answer and then the story would bubble up again? so we just don't know. >> that's what seems to me -- i think gloria has a fair point. in this world, right? friends of friends know there are at least three women -- >> sure. >> we're going to find out, aren't we? >> well, maybe. in fact, i said on monday when this whole thing broke, oh, this is definitely going to come out. you know, i think i might be wrong. i think this is where it may end. these women have not come forward for their own reasons, and it's perfectly appropriate. and i just think the story goes away at this point. unless someone says something more. >> so gloria, what accounts, then, for the -- well, cain appears to be moving on. and in the polls -- and i'm curious your view on the polls because he's jumped in the polls. he's still ahead of romney. do you think that's in response to this, that this is a defiant public, or is there a lag? >> well, it's interesting because since this story broke last sunday herman cain has raised $1.6 million. and let me put that in a little bit of perspective. in the entire last quarter he raised $2.8 million. and you see these poll numbers here. herman cain is doing just fine in the polls. in talking to republicans, and specifically when our colleague john king is out in iowa talking to republicans there, republicans there are not paying a lot of attention to these charges because they haven't seen specific credible evidence, they've just seen allegations. so -- >> and -- i'm sorry. >> go ahead. >> they also hate the news media. the republican party primary voters hate us. they think we're a bunch of liberals. and so they have positioned cain, they released a video today, as he's the guy who's being attacked by the liberal media. so they're trying to turn it into a positive. i don't know if it's going to be a positive. but that certainly i think helps neutralize it, as does this sort of non-event today. >> i still think, gloria -- i mean, i have no idea what will happen or what will or won't come out. but that there's been all this focus, quote unquote, on woman number one. but number two and three, whatever you want to say about the news media, they're going to go looking for these women and finding these women and maybe one of them will say i'm going to come out and get specific. and maybe then it does change. >> or other women who believe there was kind of a pattern of inappropriate behavior. we just don't know. but generally, you can understand as jeffrey says why these women don't want to come out. it's uncomfortable, it happened ten years ago, they want to put it behind them. in this particular case this woman has been married and just wants to move on with her life and doesn't want to get involved in a presidential campaign. and by the way, she works for the federal government. people could construe it as political. if she did, we don't know. democrat, republican, whatever. >> right. >> but eventually, i just keep thinking that we live in a world in which eventually every story unrave unravels. and so eventually there may be more information. >> but we also live like one day at a time in our world. and for today it's not much -- >> something else might occur. something might happen to somebody else, and all of the sudden all of the supplies go on that carcass. >> the circus moves on. but if he's the nominee in october, let's deal with that then. you know, it's a long way between now and whether he's the republican nominee. i think for now the story is definitely dying down. >> do we have david? david gergen is with us. and i have to say happy anniversary to david gergen, who w was happy enough to be here. thank you for being here. is it done-r we moving on or now? >> i think we're probably moving on but i don't think he's escaped injury here. there's definitely a cloud over this nomination and while the polls and the money are coming in now i can guarantee you two things. one i think is standing against barack obama on a head to head will go down. and secondly i think his chances of getting a republican nomination are about zero. >> really? zero? >> zero. >> jeff toobin's a little surprised. >> you know, he's been in the 20s in the polls for quite a while now. i mean, look, i don't think he's going to be the nominee. but i think zero is a little tough. >> i said about zero. but i'll give it 3%. but i'll say this, it's a heck of a lot closer to 0 than 50. >> but david, wouldn't you have said that before the allegations came up on sunday? >> i do. and this is going to damage him with the national outlook. yeah, his basis will stay strong, but he's been a problematic candidate all along. and these are not unserious charges. and you're a woman today and you're working, wouldn't you remember what happened to the woman in the dominique strauss-kahn case and how she got smeared and what happened to anita hill way back when? i think a lot of people are going to be sympathetic on that basis. >> it's funny. i was talking to a conservative republican woman today and asking that same question. and you know what she said to me? she said, well, the democrats had bill clinton and they say bill clinton was a great president, what bill clinton was accused of was a lot worse. >> bill clinton was a serious political actor who was the governor of a stace state for a long time. >> i agree with you, but i'm telling you what she was saying to me. >> and republican voters, my experience is they think clarence thomas was the victim and anita hill was the perpetrator. so i don't think that analogy -- i mean urk saw in the video they were very much trying to make that analogy, that thomas and cain were victimized by unscrupulous women in a bad media. >> but my thinking is he may still up in the republican polls for a while but i think in the national polls as a serious political candidate for the presidency of the united states, the most important political job in the world, and a man who has had no political experience, i think his numbers are going to go down and ultimately over time that's going to reduce his chances of getting the nomination. >> well, i'm going to hit pause on that. thank you all very much for the impassioned conversation. and by the way, this whole point of sexual harassment, what really goes on, does anyone watching remember the boom-boom room? ar that is the only way i can refer to a room that was used for sex back at salomon brothers. we're going to talk about that story with the person who wrote the book later, whether sexual harassment's still a big issue. next up, we're still a year away from the president election. herman cain's rival mitt romney, why couldn't romney get a bounce this week? wait till you see the ovation. and gadhafi's final hours. we find out what happened. and a verdict could come any moment in the conrad murray trial. his pastor comes "outfront" tonight. so you're seriously proposing we change our name to sun life valley. do we still get to go skiing? sooner or later, you'll know our name. sun life financial. some folks call me a rock star, some call me the mayor... and i love it. and, i make everybody happy. i keep my business insurance with the hartford because... they came through for me once, and i know they've got my back. for whatever challenges come your way... the hartford is here to back you up. helping you move ahead... with confidence. meet some of our small business customers at: thehartford.com/business i don't think about the unknown... i just rock n' roll. when you're a sports photographer, things can get out of control pretty quickly. so i like control in the rest of my life... especially my finances. that's why i have slate, with blueprint. i can create my own plan to pay down large purchases faster... or avoid interest on everyday items. that saves me money. with slate from chase, i'm always in control. financially, anyway. get slate with blueprint and save money. call 855-get-slate today. delivering mail, medicine and packages. yet they're closing thousands of offices, slashing service, and want to lay off over 100,000 workers. the postal service is recording financial losses, but not for reasons you might think. the problem ? a burden no other agency or company bears. a 2006 law that drains 5 billion a year from post-office revenue while the postal service is forced to overpay billions more into federal accounts. congress created this problem, and congress can fix it. ♪ ♪ ♪ when the things that you need ♪ ♪ come at just the right speed, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ medicine that can't wait legal briefs there by eight, ♪ ♪ that's logistics. ♪ ♪ freight for you, box for me box that keeps you healthy, ♪ ♪ that's logistics. ♪ ♪ saving time, cutting stress, when you use ups ♪ ♪ that's logistics. ♪ whose non-stop day starts with back pain... and a choice. take advil now and maybe up to four in a day. or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. way to go, coach. ♪ ed. the number tonight, 363. that's how many millions of dollars the u.s. military spent on weight loss surgeries over the past decade. that's right. the average cost of the surgeries were nearly $18,000. the number includes gastric bypass and gastric banding procedures. and yes, that is for the military. this sunday will be exactly one year until the next presidential election, and a new poll released today shows a near tie between republican rivals herman cain and mitt romney. now, as we were just talking about, with everything that's gone on with herman cain, you may be surprised that it's so close. but as you hear gloria and david and jeff talk-b a flot of people have flocked to herman cain, a feeling he has been victimized through the sexual harassment claims. but other people say why hasn't romney been able to capitalize on this? let's find out. bill burton joins us now. he is former deputy press secretary for president obama in the 2008 campaign, now runs a super pac for him. scott scansel is deputy press secretary for george w. bush during the 2004 campaign. okay. thanks to both of you. and scott, let me start with you as the republican here. i mean, today herman cain gets a huge standing ovation at the defending the american dream summit. mitt romney gets a lukewarm reception. and the latest polls show he is tied statistically. so why is this that mitt romney has not capitalized on this situation? >> well, i think it's less about mitt romney than it is about -- jeff was right. republican primary voters deeply distrust the media. no offense to you and your colleagues at cnn. but republican voters are deeply suspicious about how this story came about, how it came about through unnamed sources, and the amount of attention it's gained this week. so i think to a certain extent it's sort of frozen the field. i don't think that republican voters are necessarily rushing to herman cain. but they are sticking with him until they find out all the facts. and that's going to take some time. so mitt romney is doing what he's doing. he's laying out concrete plans to address the budget deficit and jobs in this country. and that's what he should be doing. but i think for the time being republican primary voters are just going to be taking a look to see how this cain situation shakes out. >> all right. bill burton, then why are you fighting against mitt romney? you had an ad today. you had an ad yesterday. it seems you've picked the guy you think is going to be in the general election. >> well, i think by all accounts mitt romney looks like he's going to be the person who's the -- it might not be him. and if you look at the advertisements we put out this woke, a lot of those things could apply to any of the republicans who are running. but if you look at what has happened to poor mitt romney, this man has been running for president for six years. he's spent $100 million. and he's actually behind where he was at this time in 2007 in iowa. he's flatlined in support.and the fact that herman cain, who before all this had nonsensical proposals to begin with, has now admitted that he was paid -- that women have been paid as a result of sexual harassment charges against him, mitt romney is still losing to him. i mean, i don't know what it is that the dogs won't eat the dog food but mitt romney's got some real problems in the republican primary and he's having trouble getting out of them. >> scott, what's your take on that? are the republicans making a mistake with the field that they have? >> not at all. not at all. this is a very interesting race in that it is pretty wide open. we've got 60 days until the iowa caucuses. and i would just caution bill in terms of talking about poll numbers at this point. i hesitate to guess what senator barack obama's numbers were at this point in 2007. so a lot can change -- >> 19. >> -- prior to the iowa caucuses. and as you see, a lot could change over the course of this race. so i think mitt romney is out there doing what he needs to be doing. i think he's in a solid position. he's delineating himself from the other campaigns. and he's also, more importantly, delineating himself from president obama's failed leadership where we see unemployment numbers persistently high over 9%. he's talked about how he would deal with the budget today. so i think he's putting together a credible plan that republican primary voters could come around to. >> now, next week i'm going to talk about this because i'm frustrated with mitt romney, 500 billion in cuts, they're not going to cut it, but that's a separate issue. bill burton, let me ask you one other thing, though. who do you think is a better candidate for barack obama to run against? herman cain or mitt romney? do you have a preference? >> well, you know what? back in 1980 democrats were hoping against hope that ronald reagan would be the nominee. and we all saw how that turned out for democrats that time around. i think it's tough for democrats to get in the business of picking who the nominee's going to be. it looks like it's going to be mitt romney. but whoever it is on the republican side the contrast between the president's vision for this economy and the republican vision, it couldn't be clearer. >> all right. well, gentlemen, thanks very much to both of you. by the way, just for the record, my frustration is mitt romney's cuts are less than the super committee's minimum cuts, and that was a little upsetting. okay. we now know how moammar gadhafi spent the final hours of his life. you certainly remember this video taken right as the former libyan leader was captured by rebel fighters. he was found hiding in this drain pipe, covered with graffiti. then we saw those images many of us thought we'd never see. gadhafi lifeless, shot in the head. what took place in the frantic hours before he was found? those details are now coming to light because of a cnn interview with one of the former leader's bodyguards. i spoke with cnn's jaman jamana kadrasha in tripoli earlier today and i said when she talked to the bodyguard what did she learn about gadhafi's final moments? >> well, erin, according to mansour dat, one of the top security officials of the gadhafi regime, they spent their time on the run in that besieged city of sirte, gadhafi's hometown. they would not stay in one place for more than three to four days. and they were moving around these abandoned houses around the city, living on very little food they could find in these houses. and toward the end he told us that the situation went from bad to worse, that their life had turned by about 180 degrees. they had no power, no water, and they lost communication with the outside world. he told us that gadhafi spent most of his time reading books that he had stacked in suitcases and writing notes that daal did not get to read. >> so those notes perhaps somewhere, which is fascinating. were you able to find out from the bodyguard how gadhafi died and what he was feeling in those last moments? i mean, when he ended up coming out of that drain pipe. >> well, what he told us was that gadhafi was insisting that he did not want to leave sirte for two months since he got there in august before the fall of tripoli he refused to leave the city. but as the siege intensified it seems that gadhafi felt the end was near and a few hours before he was killed he decided that he wanted to leave the city to his birthplace, a village that's pretty close to sirte. so -- because according to dal, gadhafi was getting more worried and erratic. and he thinks he was getting afraid at that point. so they decided to leave in this convoy that he described as a very chaotic plan. they had absolutely no plan to fight no, plan to flee, and they just got in these cars. delayed in l