Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, took aim at embattled contender Herman Cain during an appearance on Fox News Sunday. He criticized Cain’s policy positions, though, rather than focusing on the sexual harassment allegations that surfaced last week.
Paul dismissed the sexual harassment story in short order. “I think the media blew this way out of proportion,” he said when host Chris Wallace raised the subject. “I think there are a thousand stories out on [the allegations] and I think that dilutes the real debates, because his views on foreign policy for instance are dramatically different than mine.”
His response differed somewhat from that of presidential hopeful Rick Santorum, who seemed to take an oblique dig at Cain this week when he described the story as “pretty unsavory, the whole ordeal,” while campaigning in Iowa.
An apostle for auditing the Federal Reserve, Paul criticized Cain for comments he’s made about the Federal Reserve. “He believes in the bailouts and the Federal Reserve and all this,” Paul said, “I think that’s what we should be talking about. And I don’t like the distractions.”
Paul stayed on message, and offense, even when asked if he might gain support if the sexual harassment stories weakened Cain’s support. “I think when people get to know what Herman stands for, I think that helps me,” Paul argued, “because they are not going to say, oh, he’s not really for any cuts and he’s for adding this national sales tax.”
