Posted on 11/01/2011 9:37:45 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
For Herman Cain to win the Republican nomination, he has to win Iowa. A loss there would almost certainly drain his campaign of credibility and donors before he could make it to South Carolina, especially if Mitt Romney ends up the winner in January 3rd’s caucuses. So how are Iowa caucus goers reacting to the Politico story containing vague allegations of misconduct from more than a dozen years ago? The Des Moines Register reports that they’re less than impressed … with Politico:
Iowa conservatives appear unready to jump off the Herman Cain train — unless damning evidence emerges that proves the presidential candidate was less than truthful Monday when he denied allegations of sexual harassment.
The Des Moines Register spoke by phone with more than 20 likely Republican caucusgoers who participated in the Oct. 23-26 Iowa Poll, and none said the allegations had moved them to reject Cain as a potential pick. …
Poll respondent Rick Hall, a Des Moines accountant, said, “Unless it rolls into something undeniably very bad at his core, it will have no effect on my feeling about Mr. Cain as far as a viable candidate. It happened far enough ago, I’m not surprised that this thing wouldn’t follow many highly placed corporate officers.”
Iowa conservative leaders, too, were willing Monday to give Cain the benefit of the doubt.
“He has to lay all his cards on the table now and tell all truthfully,” said Steve Scheffler, a West Des Moines Republican and president of the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition. “If there is nothing there, he will be fine with conservatives. If there is more, then there could be some real challenges for him.”
How did people around the nation react to the Politico story? Well, the dollars tell the story:
Yesterday was Herman Cain’s biggest campaign fundraising day, the candidate told Laura Ingraham this morning on her radio show. …
About the fundraising news, Ingraham said: “What does that tell you? Don’t let the media set the message for you. He didn’t cancel anything on his schedule. He’s not a hermit. He’s not hiding behind some wall of privacy.” Clearly, she said, “People want a fighter. They see right through the media haze.”
Iowans are not abandoning Cain, and donors increased their support. If that seems strange after such an explosive allegation, perhaps the assessment of ProPublica — an independent journalistic watchdog — might explain the dynamic:
It is clear from the story that Politico posted Sunday evening that reporters had made extensive efforts to figure out what happened. But much of what appeared came from anonymous sources whose knowledge appeared to be second-hand or unspecific.
Politico described the incidents involved “conversations allegedly filled with innuendo or personal questions of a sexually suggestive nature” that took place at conferences or other restaurant association events. One exchange, an unnamed source said, involved an invitation by Cain to an employee to meet him in his hotel suite at an event. There were also “physical gestures that were not overtly sexual but that made women who experienced or witnessed them uncomfortable and that they regarded as improper in a professional relationship.’’
Obviously, this description leaves open a myriad of possibilities, from the boorish to the legally actionable. Certainly, it prompts readers to scratch their heads as they try to remember what in the late 1990s constituted a physical gesture that was not overtly sexual but discomfiting. (I checked. The Macarena came out in the mid-1990s.) Suggestions from a boss to “meet in my suite” are equally ambiguous. Did Cain have a sheaf of strategy papers on the desk or a CD player with a Michael Bolton track cued up?
Therein is the problem with this story. If the facts as published were part of a memo to Politico’s editors, they would amount to a first-rate tip on a story. …
Were the settlements $99,999 each (to borrow some of Cain’s favorite numbers)? Or a buck more than $9,999?
The former would suggest, but not prove, that something seriously untoward had occurred. The latter would sound like what lawyers term nuisance settlements – the money corporations routinely shell out to make frivolous claims go away.
Over at CNBC, count Larry Kudlow as equally unimpressed:
“There were also descriptions of physical gestures that were not overtly sexual but that made women who experienced or witnessed them uncomfortable and that they regarded as improper in a professional relationship.”
What does this mean?
The gestures weren’t overtly sexual, but the women were uncomfortable and believed the gestures were improper in a professional relationship. These are all second-hand testimonies from “close associates” of the female accusers, but I don’t know what standards are being talked about.
I mean, based on this sort of thing, anybody could think anything about almost anything. I’m not blasting the Politico people per se. I just don’t understand the meaning of what they’re reporting.
What appears evident at this point is that Politico might have had a seed of a legitimate story, but only if they were able to get first-hand accounts with the necessary detail to show that Cain was actually guilty of misconduct. They didn’t the first-hand accounts nor the details, not from Cain and not from the women involved. Instead, they ran with the vague, second-hand related accounts from more than a decade gone by. So far, that’s not impressing too many people, not Iowans, not Republicans, and not too many journalists, either.
This thing ain't over yet (because the libs DON'T WANT it to be over and want it to go on and on to distract Cain's campaign).
It's a WAR folks.
Watch for the next bullets to fly soon.
OCCUPY POLITICO !
Where’s the blue dress?
To me this whole episode conclusively proves that Cain is NOT the flavor of the week or month.
A flavor of the week or months support would of collapsed immediately if even a bad picture was taken of them, or if they even had a bad debate.
A candidate with real support can weather a storm. And not only has Cain weathered this storm, I suggest based on statements from from his campaign that he had his best fundraising day every yesterday that Cain will actually emerge from this stronger.
Go Cain !
There’s no blue dress.
In the end it will boil down to he (Cain) said, they ( the libs ) said.
I just heard on the radio that yesterday was Herman’s biggest fund raising day yet. I think people are just fed up by all the BS from the msm.
They went all in way too soon.
RUSH just said that Herman Cain enjoyed his largest FUND RAISING DAY, YESTERDAY, AFTER THIS SMEAR STORY BROKE!
THANKS politico.
exactly! we have our candidate!
Go Cain!
for the first time in my life I will be excited to pull the lever for president instead of feeling like I am settling for the lesser of two evils!
I am so excited!
Go Cain!
“For Herman Cain to win the Republican nomination, he has to win Iowa.” I call BULLSHIT on this. Ronald Reagan DID NOT “win” Iowa and last I checked he was the 40th President of the United Staes!
Nonsense! Ask Huckabee about 2008, Dole about 1988, or Bush 1 about 1980!
The labor secretary, called every one asswociated with the tea party teabaggers, and to me that is sexually offensive..but she is a democrat and it is all right...
For Herman Cain to win the Republican nomination, he has to win Iowa.”
I’m not so sure.
I think, rather, the more accurate thing to say at this stage would be: If Cain wins Iowa, all bets are off. Most likely, Romney will sail by in NH, and NV, and then it’s off to SC, where Cain should be strong.
After that, it’s a two man race, and Cain might even be in the driver’s seat.
Yes, if Romney wins in Iowa, that complicates things, but I still think Cain is in it if he wins in SC, and that is looking pretty good.....
Just sent the Herminator $100 and will begin to send more. I’d like to see Palin come out with a column thrashing people like Steele and Santorum for their sanctimonious comments.
I donated yesterday because...HOW DARE THEY!! The stench coming from Obama, his associates, his past, and the mess stemming from his actions and inaction is so strong, yet the libs try to make something from, apparently, nothing in order to derail a good man while continuing to prop up and praise Obama.
I’m just as likely to put up a Perry sign in my yard, so it’s not like I’m a complete Cain-bot, but the nerve of these people to ignore virtually everything that stinks about Obama and then do this???!!!! Unforgivable.
I found the word “oddly” in the title to be, well, “odd”.
It reveals that the thought this would “work”, and are puzzled that it didn’t.
Bingo....we have a winner.
Lets see...I seem to remember a prominent DemoCrat President...who had more than just a “gesture” or two associated with accusations of sexual harassment.....somewhere in our past...
Not surprising!
I just had the privilege of hearing Rush on all this. He was awesome, basically declaring war (again) on the left, saying we are not going to stand by idly and let you try this again on one of ours!
Amazingly, it looks like the left’s hate filled focus on Cain is just going to make him become a front runner. I’ll be Romney is thinking, “how do I get some of that hatred of the left?” (and he’s probably scratching his head, because he really has no idea...then again, maybe not...he’s probably thinking, “how do I get MORE Of the love of the left”).
In any event....so far, Cain is doing ok on this (even though he could have been a tad bit more prepared yesterday...).
What about the second-tier candidates who will almost assuredly pull out after Iowa? Certainly Cain will have a majority of their votes in succeeding primaries.
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