Cain, rocked by scandal, took a moment at his press conference today for song:
Rush goes berserk over the sexual harassment story. Contra Jeffrey Lord, Quin Hillyer is taking the allegations seriously:
In Cain's case, the allegations actually came five years before he ran for any office, 12 years ago now. There was no way they were politically motivated, because Cain had never been a candidate for anything. Furthermore, the allegations came not just from one disgruntled employee, but from two separate women. One allegation can be a misunderstanding, or an oversensitivity, or a case of job-related payback. Two allegations, separate and distinct from each other, are at least the beginning of a pattern.
Jennifer Rubin fisks Cain's claim that he was unaware of any settlement agreement reached to resolve the sexual harassment charges:
For that to be true, many things would also have to be true: Herman Cain never asked the NRA how the claim got resolved; Cain never had to sign a settlement agreement or any other document; He trusted the NRA to obtain a complete release on his behalf, and the women never demanded that Cain release potential counterclaims (e.g., for defamation); He never agreed to keep the matter confidential — for example, after he left the NRA. (Arguably the association could bind him while he was still employed, but wouldn’t it have had to tell him to ensure compliance?); and in his role as CEO, Cain never had to approve a settlement, was never told the cost of the settlement and never saw a budget entry confirming a settlement.
Philip Klein argues along similar lines:
It seems unrealistic that if a settlement were reached concerning his behavior that he'd be unaware of it. And if it is possible that a CEO can be totally unaware of a settlement, how could he be "absolutely" sure that no such settlements were made at his other employers? To be clear, overall, I think Cain did pretty well on Fox. If all there is to the story is anonymous accusers from back in the 1990s versus his emphatic denial, I think he'll be able to survive this without many problems, especially given natural conservative distrust of the media. If, however, more details emerge that begin to contradict his initial statements, and the situation turns out to be a lot broader than he lets on, it will become a major problem.
Kevin Williamson is more definitive:
I got a lot of grief for writing that, based on my interaction with Mr. Cain, I would have hesitated to hire him to run a pizza company. I am feeling more comfortable in that judgment.
The Dish 