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.
Or possibly extreme sarcasm, which doesn't always come over in print. It sounds like the type of headline I'd write.
That was my first thought too. Why is it “odd” that vague accusations, that are obvious below-the-belt attempts to just smear Cain, aren’t having an impact? Sometimes these writers don’t even see their own bias.