No, that is not the bottom line in politics.
Ya see, in politics/media it does not matter if an allegation is actually true. The damage is done by the allegation itself, once disseminated, the damage is hard to control, or "put back in the bottle" if you will.
It does matter who leaked, because whoever leaked, clearly had a motive, and the question would be, was the motive honorable or only meant to undermine Cain. Motive is everything and would raise credible legitimate questions regarding motives. Such as was this concocted by several people
Here’s the latest:
The leakers are purported to be two guys who formerly worked for Cain at the Restaurant Association and in his 2004 Senate campaign.
Turncoats—traitors—punks: welcomed with open arms by the Perry campaign.
I would definitely be interested in who leaked the story. That party is usually subject to an immediate default judgement for x amount of dollars, along w/ recovery of the payout (if it was the plaintiff).