Politico is reporting that two female, restaurant association employees claimed that Herman Cain was responsible for inappropriate behavior toward them while he headed the National Restaurant Association in the 1990's.
[The women] signed agreements with the restaurant group that gave them financial payouts to leave the association. The agreements also included language that bars the women from talking about their departures.
Cain's campaign has responded to the allegations, claiming that they're politically-motivated.
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.
Dredging up thinly sourced allegations stemming from Mr. Cain’s tenure as the Chief Executive Officer at the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, political trade press are now casting aspersions on his character and spreading rumors that never stood up to the facts.
.... Sadly, we’ve seen this movie played out before – a prominent Conservative targeted by liberals simply because they disagree with his politics.
This couldn't come at a worse time for Cain -- he's in DC Monday and there'll be plenty of questions to ask him at the National Press Club luncheon and elsewhere.
Mark Halperin says:
Cain's survival depends on (1) the facts; (2) how he handles himself Monday; (3) his supporters' ability to demonize the MSM; (4) how aggressively Politico and others continue to pursue the story; (5) did I mention the facts?
At this point, remember to take these as just what they're reported to be -- allegations, and it's important to remember that this modern world is full of both real and baseless allegations, and often someone's name is tarnished because of ones that, ultimately, prove to be motivated by financial or other gain.
I suspect that if Cain acknowledges the allegations, he'll immediately be branded as having admitted guilt. Nothing could be further from the truth. Plenty of people -- in all walks of life -- have had careers or lives tarnished by false allegations.
Remember Clarence Thomas, which should prove cautionary to everyone involved in talking about and reporting this story.
Ann Coulter, last night.
“It’s not groping, it’s not touching, it's not that he demanded sex. It’s that he had remarks that they found inappropriate.
One is he had inappropriate gestures that were not overtly sexual. Well, what were they then?"
