By Tuesday, Cain was chalking up the confusion to semantics, saying he was aware of an "agreement" but not a "settlement."

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"It looked like I had changed my story," Cain told CNN Headline News. "I didn't change my story."

He acknowledged he'd made the problem worse for himself over the course of the previous day.

"If I could do it over," Cain said, "I would start with the last interview I did last night and make that the first interview of the day."

He was referring to his appearance on Fox News, where he spoke at length to Greta Van Susteren about details he had not divulged during at least three events earlier in the day - and indeed had reversed himself.

Over the course of 24 hours, Cain first said he had no knowledge of settlements with any women who had complained about inappropriate sexual behavior. He later admitted he knew of one agreement.

He spent Tuesday much as he did Monday, going from interview to interview to defend himself.

The damage control amounted to a real-time crisis management test for a candidate who is just introducing himself to the country and who has based his campaign on his decades-long background in business management that includes stints at Godfather's Pizza, Pillsbury, Coca-Cola and the Department of the Navy.

Since the harassment allegations became public, Cain's staff has contributed to the conflicting accounts - even offering flat denials that there was any factual basis to the story.

Cain said Monday that Politico had also provided his campaign with the name of a second woman who, Politico reported, also received a settlement after complaining of sexually inappropriate encounters with Cain.