You’re giving Rove way too much credit - I don’t think he really would gone to that much effort, because I don’t think it’s likely that Cain would get the top slot anyway. And while Rove may prefer another candidate (I’m not sure which one), I don’t think he really cares that much personally.
I would suspect this is the usual Dem attack. Last week, they tried to say Cain wasn’t “really” black, and now they’re going to try to stir up women against him. He’s not even my favorite candidate, but I think this is plain ridiculous, and unless (God forbid) some evidence emerges, I think it won’t go beyond tomorrow’s news cycle.
However, as one of the Dem harpies said, it’s not the truthfulness of the charge that matters, it’s the seriousness of the charge. In other words, that’s what sticks in people’s minds.
Of course, if a Dem did something like that, even if there were 20 women lined up in a row with signed affadavits, nobody would care.