Cain's decision to blame Perry for the sexual harassment charges seems to me a pivotal moment. The narrative of Cain versus evil-librul-media was, if anything, a plus for the guy. The narrative of Cain reminding people he's not a political neophyte and is capable of the usual bitter campaign rivalries … not so good for the brand. And without any clarity of what on earth really happened – and specifics are vital to making any kind of judgment – this can only get worse. I think the Cain campaign via the NRA needs to release all the women from a gag order and get this on the table as soon as possible. If it's trivial, we can move on. If not, we can assess. And I have to repeat my first impression: sexual harassment is almost never a one-off event; it is about abuse of power, always a relevant issue when assessing a possible president; the Clinton years revealed what can happen when politics is frozen by rigid denials of sexual misconduct. We have now learned that the pay-out to a second woman was $45,000. That's a lot for some mild banter.
The only way past this for Cain is through it. Let the women speak, if they wish. If they refuse to come forward or detail the accusations, then there's nothing more to be done. But the golden rule of political scandal applies: disclose everything, apologize for what needs to be apologized, and get it over with. But Cain seems unable to get there. Why?
The Dish 