WASHINGTON (CBS Washington/AP) — The Republican Party chairman is asserting the controversy surrounding Herman Cain isn’t harming the party’s chances to defeat Barack Obama.

Reince Priebus says he doesn’t know “what’s true and what’s not” about the crossfire between the Cain and Rick Perry campaigns over revelations of sexual harassment allegations against Cain.

Priebus tells NBC”s “Today” show it’s not his job to be the “referee in here.”

He says the Cain controversy is a fleeting thing and that “this issue and other issues are going to come and go.” Asked about the Cain-Perry matter, Priebus says, “We’re not the Sherlock Holmes of the presidential primary field.”

In his interview, Priebus insisted that “I’m not going to get in the middle of it” and said the issue is that people want change.

The latest CBS News/New York Times poll has Cain sitting atop the GOP presidential field, with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney a close second.

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