I’ve done this before, more than once. But now that Herman Cain is out of the race, this may be the last time (probably not, but we can hope):
As of today, 5 weeks after Politico broke the story, we still do not know what Herman Cain was accused of doing at the National Restaurant Association which gave rise to Politico’s original October 30 report of two settlements, or the evidence to support Politico’s characterization of the allegations as “sexual harassment.”
We keep talking about 4 or 5 sexual harassment accusers, but we know the allegations of only one (Sharon Bialek, who was not part of the original Politico reporting and whose story is highly suspect). I just think it’s worth noting, even if it’s history now.
The latest allegation of marital infidelity (which Cain denies and as to which there is no independent evidence) would not have cratered Cain’s campaign but for the weeks of reporting kicked off by Politico on October 30.
Which brings me to this masterpiece of denial by Jonathan Martin as to what Politico did to Cain, Herman Cain 2012 campaign a victim of the laws of political gravity:
Cain, who exited the race Saturday over allegations of sexual impropriety, demonstrated that candidates still must have a grasp on the issues, possess some degree of political experience and retain a competent staff.
Antipathy toward Washington may be soaring, but outsider status isn’t sufficient by itself to overcome deeper flaws.GOP primary voters are indicating that they’d prefer a insider who’s competent than someone from outside the establishment who may not be up to the task of taking on President Obama.
There is truth to the point that Cain’s failings as a candidate — lack of political experience, superficial knowledge of the issues, and an incompetent team — would have led Cain’s campaign to fall to earth by the pull of political gravity.
I never was a Cain supporter, so I had no vested interest in seeing him prevail, and his departure probably will help my preferred candidate.
But come on, Politico pushed Cain off the bridge, he didn’t just fall by some force of nature. Hundreds of articles using the term “sexual harassment” without any facts is not natural, it’s a journalistic freak of nature.
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