Are you too young to remember the 1992 campaign and a fellow named William Jefferson Clinton . . .
I don’t have a dog in this fight as I’m north of the border and not American. I am certainly not a fan of Romney, but I have been a student of American politics long enough to know that there is a double standard when it comes to politicians involved in inappropriate personal relationships. While a Clinton could survive a scandal because of undying media support, a Republican cannot. And even lesser light Democrats have been forced out of office (how soon we forget the sad tale of Weiner’s weiner). But it’s not just the media. Conservatives expect a higher standard of conduct from their candidates. To conservatives, family, loyalty and integrity isn’t just a convenient campaign slogan - it’s how most of us strive to live. Even if we fall short of the ideal, we don’t stop believing in the ideal. When faced with a candidate who has serious character flaws, our instinct is not just to sweep it under the carpet. We want to get the facts before passing judgment.
With respect to Cain, I don’t know yet whether there’s real substance to any of the allegations. There is, however, a need to get the truth about the man before anointing him as the nominee. If there is truth in the latest allegation then it is not something that I would accept in a nominee, particularly since it isn’t some incident from the distant past. Same goes for Gingrich’s character.
Like it or not, Romney (so far) has avoided the appearance of personal character flaws which have haunted Cain and Gingrich. Perry may also benefit from being seen as a person with personal integrity. I think Gingrich has put enough distance between his divorce so that conservatives were willing to take a second look, but they are not enthusiastic. His health care and immigration comments are giving conservatives cause for concern and he doesn’t have the political capital to be given a pass.
In a word, your situation is a mess. Either the conservative primary voters coalesce around an imperfect conservative candidate such as Perry, or they’ll be forced to accept a competent RINO like Romney.