Herman Cain rejects the claims

Herman Cain is holding a press conference right now, robustly defending himself against all the accusations of harassment against him.  He's not backing down and he plans a vigorous defense and a continued campaign for president.  The most enjoyable part of the conference has been his lawyer chastising Gloria Allred for trotting out an accuser and then booking interviews for the accuser instead of focusing the legal issues into a court of law.  Delicious.

Will this conference help or hurt Cain?  I think it might help him in the primaries but if he wins the nomination, no matter how innocent he is (or isn't) the seed has been planted and you can bank on the fact that Team Obama* will pounce all over it.

*This includes CBS, MSNBC, et al.

UPDATE: CBS asks the lie detector question.  Cain is willing to do one.  Cain also says that the character microscope candidates go under is fine, if they are done with facts.

Reuters asks about supporter loss. Cain is confident the support won't be affected significantly over time.

LA Times poses a question with the premise that it's serious and then asks if he has ever seen it.  Cain has seen it. Cain also does not tolerate it.

ABC brings up the complaint that is from Cain indicates is baseless.  That is probably the one the will get the most, and most immediate drill-down from the press.

Wall Street Journal puts the count at 4 complaints and asks Cain why.  Cain believes it's coming from political opponents.  He believes the machine will push the effort to attack his integrity relentlessly to stop him.  He doesn't know who is behind it.

NBC asks about Cain's impressions about Sharon Bialek's financial troubles. Were they contributory to her claims against him?  Cain suggests they raise the obvious question.

CNN - who found the other case to be found baseless and why was payment made?  Cain reiterated the Restaurant Association timeline.

CBS - Is the Sharon Bialek case something he is just forgetting like some of the details with the first accusation?  Cain says it's possible but it is a very remote possibility - he typically remembers people.

Cain is answering all the questions himself.  Impressive.