Another family values Christian is being accused of behavior that isn't exactly Christlike or family-approved.
GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain has denied a Politico report that alleges he sexually harassed women during his time as head of the National Restaurant Association.
Whether there was any groping involved remains to be seen, but given that financial payouts were handed over in exchange for silence, I'm willing to bet that Cain's hands kneaded more than dough.
During Herman Cain’s tenure as the head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, at least two female employees complained to colleagues and senior association officials about inappropriate behavior by Cain, ultimately leaving their jobs at the trade group, multiple sources confirm to POLITICO.
The women complained of sexually suggestive behavior by Cain that made them angry and uncomfortable, the sources said, and they 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 insists that Politico is "dredging up thinly sourced allegations." Spokesman J.D. Gordon told the AP that the claims include "unsubstantiated personal attacks," adding that the press is "casting aspersions on his character and spreading rumors that never stood up to the facts."
But Gordon told Politico that the candidate indicated to campaign officials that he was “vaguely familiar” with the charges and that the restaurant association’s general counsel had resolved the matter.
So we should all just ignore this whole silly matter? What's been swept under a rug should remain under that rug? What are the chances of that happening? Zero.
Yesterday morning, outside the Washington bureau of CBS News, Cain evaded a series of questions about the allegations.
Cain said he has “had thousands of people working for me” at different businesses over the years and could not comment “until I see some facts or some concrete evidence.” His campaign staff was given the name of one woman who complained last week, and it was repeated to Cain on Sunday. He responded, “I am not going to comment on that.”
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?”
Is Herman Cain 12? Does he not have a better comeback than that?
The talking heads will be all over this tonight, but do we really need to analyze this business at length? My common sense tells me that if he didn't do it, he would have just said he didn't do it. The fact that he's not emphatically denying the allegations suggests that he's guilty as charged. Even Fox News' Geraldo Rivera agrees! And when Rivera uses the words, "recipe for disaster" when speaking of a GOP candidate, you can bet this is the beginning of the end for Cain.
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