Cain Badly Mishandled The Charges Against Him

When will the politicians ever learn. The United States is a forgiving country, but its people absolutely hates liars. Herman Cain was accused of sexually harassing a couple of female employees when he headed the National Restaurant Association (NRA) back in the late 1990's. And there is mounting evidence that the charges are true, including a $35,000 payoff to one woman and a $45,000 payoff to another. And these are not charges filed long after the incident. At least one of the women reported the improper behavior on the same night it occurred. Here is how Politico reports it:

The woman in question, roughly 30 years old at the time and working in the National Restaurant Association’s government affairs division, told two people directly at the time that Cain made a sexual overture to her at one of the group’s events, according to the sources familiar with the incident. She was livid and lodged a verbal complaint with an NRA board member that same night, these sources said.

The woman told one of the sources Cain made a suggestion that she felt was overtly sexual in nature and that “she perceived that her job was at risk if she didn’t do it.”

“She is a pretty confident individual, and she was pretty upset,” the source, an acquaintance of the woman, said of her demeanor after the encounter with Cain. “Not crying, but angry.”

She described it as an “unwanted sexual advance” to the other source. The woman took the matter immediately and directly to the board member because “she wanted this fixed,” the source said.

POLITICO has learned the accusation was also later brought to the attention of another board member as well as the restaurant association’s general counsel Peter Kilgore, both of whom are said to have looked into the matter. The woman, who now works in New Jersey, left the NRA in May 1998, shortly after the incident — under an agreement that paid her one-year’s salary, in the mid-$30,000s, sources said.

In addition, the second woman's lawyer is discussing the incident with the NRA and asking for their permission for the woman to speak with the media (since she had to sign a confidentiality agreement at the time of the payoff). And she may get that permission from the NRA, since Cain has not been involved in NRA leadership since 1999 and they have nothing to lose by cooperating.

The sad part is that Cain could have settled this matter days ago. All he had to do was say the made a stupid mistake about 12 years ago, he's sorry, and he would never do such a thing again. But he didn't do that. Instead he has denied everything, and then keeps changing his story as more facts emerge. He tried to stonewall it, and that just never works these days.All that did was give the story some legs and make sure it won't die for a while.

But Cain couldn't tell the truth -- his ego wouldn't let him. He's convinced that as a member of the richest 1% of Americans, he doesn't have to play by the same rules that apply to other Americans. And he's not alone in that. Frankly, most of the rich feel that way -- regardless of their age, race, or sex. But that kind of attitude doesn't sell on Main Street, and Cain is probably destroying any slim chance he had of being elected president.

It might not hurt him in the Republican race -- since right-wingers tend to make excuses when their heroes screw up (they're convinced it must be a liberal conspiracy since a right-winger couldn't possibly do wrong). But it's going to cost him with the general public in a general election. And it won't be because of his race, but because of his dishonesty. Americans can forgive a screw up, but that hate dishonesty.