After everything that happened with Bill Clinton, one would have thought that the idea of using long-past sexual harassment charges against a presidential candidate would be passe.
Guess not:
Politico dropped a sextuple-byline atom bomb on the Cain campaign. According to the paper, "at least two female employees complained to colleagues and senior association officials about inappropriate behavior" when Cain ran the National Restaurant Association. The sources and their stories are well-guarded in the story. One woman, received "'an unwanted sexual advance' from Cain at a hotel" hosting an NRA event, and has "indicated to her current employer that she received a compensation package from the association and has warned there that she may be the subject of an embarrassing story involving a presidential candidate." That detail points to a long and ugly news cycle for Cain. What happened in the hotel, and when? One source suggests that the woman was offered a good deal on the way out in order to keep quiet: Is that true?
Uh-oh -- it's an ugly news cycle! A few thoughts:
- Does it disqualify him? I don't know.
- What I'd really like to know is who dropped the bomb on Cain. If I had to guess, I'd guess it was another Republican candidate. And if it turns out that it was a Republican campaign, I'm going to guess that the collateral damage could sink both campaigns.
- I've had a sneaking suspicion for some time now that the eventual Republican nominee may not yet be in the race. This latest revelation makes that suspicion seem even more likely.
4 comments:
Be not dismayed by the alacrity with which this is reported, and don't be shocked by the eventual outcome. Anita Hill got a chair at a university endowed in her name; Paula Jones was "anointed" Queen of the Trailer Park.
I was also active in the Party locally back in '90. Grunseth wasn't my guy, but I've always had a strong gut feel that Arne Carlson's people were behind that special disclosure.
our local morning talker, NOT a GOPer, but a romney supporter (supported obama last time), fisked this story this morning.
basically, he came up with 'nothing here that merits', but merit doesnt mean much in the political assassination game.
What would disqualify Cain would be if someone named themselves in the accusation. This is just gossip, and proves only that some of Cain's former employees are....gossips.
Big deal,.
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