Saying that unproven accusations have caused pain to his family, Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain announced that he would suspend his 2012 presidential campaign.

With his wife, Gloria, standing by his side, an upbeat Cain made the announcement at the scheduled opening of his Georgia campaign headquarters. The campaign had been hit hard by allegations of sexual harassment and a long-term affair with Ginger White.

"It hurts my wife," he said during the afternoon news conference. "It hurts my family. It hurts me and it hurts the American people because you are being denied solutions to our problems."

He said he was at peace with God and the decision. He added that his wife and family know that the allegations are untrue.

CNN reports:

He introduced his "Plan B" -- "continue to be a voice for the people" -- as he announced a new website, TheCainSolutions.com.

His announcement came a month before the Iowa caucuses, the first formal test of the primary season, scheduled for January 3.

Recently, Cain acknowledged that Ginger White's allegations of an affair have led to a drop in campaign contributions, and a Des Moines Register poll shows his support among likely Republican Iowa caucus-goers has fallen to 8%, down from 23% in October. The poll has a sampling error of plus or minus 4.9 points, the newspaper said.

Respondents said they were most concerned that Cain does not understand important issues, but said the allegations against him contribute to their concern, the newspaper said.

This week, White told the news media that she and Cain engaged in an on-and-off affair for more than 13 years. She described the affair as "very casual."

All we can say is, it's about time. Shame on the Republican Party for ever allowing Herman Cain to carry on his ridiculous sideshow for so long. Thank goodness it's finally over.

Read more at CNN.

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