Is The Herman Cain Spell Broken?
You may remember him from the article I wrote twelve days ago, on October 20, about his 9-9-9 plan and the controversy around it. Four days later, on October 24, Cain came out with this controversial smoking campaign ad.
One would think that after last week , this week couldn't be any worse for the
Republican presidential hopeful. Your thinking would be wrong.
On Sunday said Cain opposes abortion even in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is at stake, saying he was "100 percent pro-life, contradicting previous statements in which he favored some exceptions.
He also endorsed a controversial theory linking abortion to racial genocide. Cain said Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger wanted to eradicate minorities by putting birth control clinics in their neighborhoods, a charge that the group denies.
One would think that after last week , this week couldn't be any worse for the
Republican presidential hopeful. Your thinking would be wrong.
On Sunday said Cain opposes abortion even in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is at stake, saying he was "100 percent pro-life, contradicting previous statements in which he favored some exceptions.
He also endorsed a controversial theory linking abortion to racial genocide. Cain said Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger wanted to eradicate minorities by putting birth control clinics in their neighborhoods, a charge that the group denies.
But Planned Parenthood disputed Cain's claims, citing a study by the Guttmacher Institute that found that fewer than one in 10 abortion clinics are in predominantly African-American neighborhoods.
Yesterday, as I reported, allegations, about two women accused Herman Cain of inappropriate behavior. 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, first surfaced Sunday night on Politico, after Cain has failed to respond directly to the allegations for 10 days leading up to the news breaking.
10 days to formulate a reaction — an astonishing amount of time in the modern, fast information filled world.
In politics, the response to the crisis can be worse than the crisis itself. Case in point? The astonishingly bungled response by Herman Cain’s campaign.
The campaign’s first effort was a non-denial denial. The campaign spokesman told Politico that Cain was “vaguely familiar” with the charges and then tried to fob it off onto the restaurant association. This is seriously laughable. If I was ever accused of sexual harassment — especially sexual harassment on the job that resulted in five-figure financial settlements — I’d be more than “vaguely familiar” with the charges.
Yesterday, as I reported, allegations, about two women accused Herman Cain of inappropriate behavior. 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, first surfaced Sunday night on Politico, after Cain has failed to respond directly to the allegations for 10 days leading up to the news breaking.
10 days to formulate a reaction — an astonishing amount of time in the modern, fast information filled world.
In politics, the response to the crisis can be worse than the crisis itself. Case in point? The astonishingly bungled response by Herman Cain’s campaign.
The campaign’s first effort was a non-denial denial. The campaign spokesman told Politico that Cain was “vaguely familiar” with the charges and then tried to fob it off onto the restaurant association. This is seriously laughable. If I was ever accused of sexual harassment — especially sexual harassment on the job that resulted in five-figure financial settlements — I’d be more than “vaguely familiar” with the charges.
Then in w hat seemed to be a tense sidewalk encounter Sunday morning with Politico reporter Jonathan Martin; Cain, without any apparent plan about how to handle it, evaded a series of questions about sexual harassment allegations. In fact, when asked directly— three times — if he had ever been accused of sexual harassment, he stayed silent for several seconds and then tried to turn the question back on the reporter. Convincing? I think not.
Fast forward to Monday morning where his campaign manager, Mark Block (the "smoking man"), said on MSNBC, “Herman Cain has never sexually harassed anybody. Period. End of story,”
After a luncheon policy speech at the National Press Club, Cain wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief and said that he “would be delighted to clear the air.” In response to a question, he confirmed that there had been an allegation of sexual harassment but said he was “unaware of any settlement.”
After a luncheon policy speech at the National Press Club, Cain wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief and said that he “would be delighted to clear the air.” In response to a question, he confirmed that there had been an allegation of sexual harassment but said he was “unaware of any settlement.”
Cain called accusations of harassment from two former employees “totally baseless and totally false,” moving aggressively to knock down allegations that could jeopardize his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
Fast forward to Monday morning where his campaign manager, Mark Block (the "smoking man"), said on MSNBC, “Herman Cain has never sexually harassed anybody. Period. End of story,”
After a luncheon policy speech at the National Press Club, Cain wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief and said that he “would be delighted to clear the air.” In response to a question, he confirmed that there had been an allegation of sexual harassment but said he was “unaware of any settlement.”
After a luncheon policy speech at the National Press Club, Cain wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief and said that he “would be delighted to clear the air.” In response to a question, he confirmed that there had been an allegation of sexual harassment but said he was “unaware of any settlement.”
Cain called accusations of harassment from two former employees “totally baseless and totally false,” moving aggressively to knock down allegations that could jeopardize his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
Then Cain ended the day with two sit-down television interviews in which he described an encounter with one woman in detail, confirmed that she was paid a financial settlement and speculated about how much she received.
Asked by PBS’s Judy Woodruff whether he might have behaved inappropriately, Cain said: “In my opinion, no. But as you would imagine, it’s in the eye of the person who thinks that maybe I crossed the line.”
Cain was referring to the encounter that he said had led to a formal complaint.
“I referenced this lady’s height, and I was standing near her, and I did this saying, ‘You’re the same height of my wife,’ because my wife is five feet tall and she comes up to my chin. This lady’s five feet tall and she came up to my chin,” Cain told Woodruff.
“Obviously she thought that that was too close for comfort. It showed up in the actual allegation. But at the time when I did that, you know, it was in my office, the door was wide open, and my secretary was sitting right there, and we were standing there and I made the little gesture.”
Cain said this accusation was later determined to be “baseless” after the woman did not find anyone to corroborate her story. He said he did not know about a second accusation. “Totally have no idea,” he told Woodruff.
This was how Herman Cain spent his Monday. But the day wasn't over yet and things even got worse.
The Republican presidential hopeful now faced new questions about financial ties between his campaign and a private charity run by two of his top aides.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that a Wisconsin tax-exempt charity called Prosperity USA footed the bill for about $40,000 worth of iPads, chartered airplanes and other expenses as Cain’s campaign got off the ground early this year.
Such payments are forbidden under federal tax and election laws, because nonprofit charities are not allowed to donate money or services to political campaigns, according to election law experts.
Cain told Fox News Channel that neither he nor his staff was aware of the allegations. “I didn’t even know about the report until you brought it up on the show,” he said.
Prosperity USA was founded by Mark Block, Cain’s chief of staff, and Linda Hansen, his deputy chief of staff. Block launched Prosperity USA and a related group after he headed the state chapter of Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a tea-party-aligned organization based in Washington.
Finally, the day ends for the Cain train.
Something seems to be ending, I’m not sure it’s these stories though.
Asked by PBS’s Judy Woodruff whether he might have behaved inappropriately, Cain said: “In my opinion, no. But as you would imagine, it’s in the eye of the person who thinks that maybe I crossed the line.”
Cain was referring to the encounter that he said had led to a formal complaint.
“I referenced this lady’s height, and I was standing near her, and I did this saying, ‘You’re the same height of my wife,’ because my wife is five feet tall and she comes up to my chin. This lady’s five feet tall and she came up to my chin,” Cain told Woodruff.
“Obviously she thought that that was too close for comfort. It showed up in the actual allegation. But at the time when I did that, you know, it was in my office, the door was wide open, and my secretary was sitting right there, and we were standing there and I made the little gesture.”
Cain said this accusation was later determined to be “baseless” after the woman did not find anyone to corroborate her story. He said he did not know about a second accusation. “Totally have no idea,” he told Woodruff.
This was how Herman Cain spent his Monday. But the day wasn't over yet and things even got worse.
The Republican presidential hopeful now faced new questions about financial ties between his campaign and a private charity run by two of his top aides.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that a Wisconsin tax-exempt charity called Prosperity USA footed the bill for about $40,000 worth of iPads, chartered airplanes and other expenses as Cain’s campaign got off the ground early this year.
Such payments are forbidden under federal tax and election laws, because nonprofit charities are not allowed to donate money or services to political campaigns, according to election law experts.
Cain told Fox News Channel that neither he nor his staff was aware of the allegations. “I didn’t even know about the report until you brought it up on the show,” he said.
Prosperity USA was founded by Mark Block, Cain’s chief of staff, and Linda Hansen, his deputy chief of staff. Block launched Prosperity USA and a related group after he headed the state chapter of Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a tea-party-aligned organization based in Washington.
Finally, the day ends for the Cain train.
Something seems to be ending, I’m not sure it’s these stories though.
