In a bombshell story, Politico has reported that when Herman Cain was head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, two female employees left their jobs and reached a settlement after “sexually suggestive behavior by Cain that made them angry and uncomfortable.” In the coming days and weeks, we’ll learn a lot more about the details. Until we do, it’s important not to jump to conclusions. Some will be quick to proclaim this the end of his campaign, while sympathetic voices will be quick to dismiss it as a smear job.
In the very early stages, though, team Cain’s response is not very encouraging. Here was the Politico reporting on an exchange it had with Cain outside the taping of CBS’s “Face the Nation” Sunday morning:
He was then asked, “Have you ever been accused, sir, in your life of harassment by a woman?”
He breathed audibly, glared at the reporter and stayed silent for several seconds. After the question was repeated three times, he responded by asking the reporter, “Have you ever been accused of sexual harassment?”
His campaign has released a statement, published by Byron York, declaring that, “Fearing the message of Herman Cain who is shaking up the political landscape in Washington, Inside the Beltway media have begun to launch unsubstantiated personal attacks on Cain.” The campaign said the story was based on “thinly sourced allegations,” but did not dispute any of the specifics in the story.
The statement also charged that, “Since Washington establishment critics haven’t had much luck in attacking Mr. Cain’s ideas to fix a bad economy and create jobs, they are trying to attack him in any way they can.”
Particuarly difficult for Cain is that the Politico report claims that an actual settlement was reached on the matter:
If the allegations are indeed false, then the Cain campaign better be able to elaborate about what was specifically false in the story. Simply blaming the “establishment” for trying to take him down, won’t cut it outside of his die hard fan base.
UPDATE: On “Geraldo,” (video here) Cain’s spokesman continued this strategy, repeatedly blasting the establishment media, while refusing to formally deny that there was a settlement.
