Bill O’Reilly On New Allegation: ‘I Don’t Think Herman Cain Can Survive Any More Of This’

Mediaite ^ | Nov.28, 2011 | Frances Martel

[Free ThinkerNY]

While Newt Gingrich‘s unexpected rise to the top of the Republican primary ladder had taken the spotlight off of the numerous sexual allegations against Herman Cain for some time, but that problem came barreling back into headlines today as Cain himself broke the news of a new accusation: a thirteen-year affair.

On tonight’s Factor, Bill O’Reilly had some pessimistic remarks on the matter, wondering whether “Herman Cain can survive any more of this.”

Joined by panelists Leslie Marshall and Janine Turner, O’Reilly noted that on his program they were “not going to get into this,” meaning the details of the affair, but did note it “is a legitimate question” whether “Herman Cain can survive any more of this.”

The panelists expressed the same concern, as Turner noted that “especially in a conservative race, it’s going to be tough,” but that “we’ve had wonderful leaders throughout the course of our history that were great thinkers… that had affairs.”

Marshall had a more optimistic approach, noting that things look bad but “between now and November 2012 is a lifetime in politics.”

[nathanbedford]

Of course I am not happy with those policy positions of Gingrich's. But I am very happy with his record of balancing four budgets, reforming welfare, shutting down the government, going toe to toe with Bill Clinton, fashioning the Gingrich "revolution."

So I think you have to balance the good with the bad on the whole record and come up with a mixed judgment. As to Obamacare, I think he is articulated a position for repeal which is unshakable. Furthermore, when we judge Gingrich or any other candidate on these issues, we must not do so in a vacuum but by way of comparison against other candidates. In my judgment there is only one alternative now to Gingrich and that is Romney. Whose position on healthcare do you dislike the least?

In balancing these three tests we must not do so in a vacuum but relative to the other candidates. It is admittedly a subjective process involving imperfect options but it is what we got.

[Cardhu]

She’ll have cards, notes, messages

According to cell phone records she had 61 phone calls with his number in a 4 month period - the last ones in September 2011.

[fightinJAG]

The quotation marks are to emphasize that this is the technical distinction the Gingrich camp is making.

My point had nothing to do with comparing Gingrich to Clinton. Hit the “in response to” button a few times and check out the history of that post if you missed it.

It all started with me making the point that those who are personally okay with Gingrich’s multiple affairs are in no position to then claim that another candidate is unfit to be POTUS because he stumbled similarly.

To which I received the response: “well, yeah, but what about if Cain lied about the affair to the nation, huh, huh? Then he should resign!”

At that point, I simply pointed out that that argument also held no water because Gingrich also lied about that particular affair. IOW, if that — “lying to the nation” — was the standard the poster applied to Cain, it should also be applied to Gingrich, and Gingrich failed.

So the weaselly distinction is not between lying and lying under oath (I agree with you completely about perjury), but between implying there is no moral failure inherent in lying unless it is lying under oath.

Related, it’s also weaselly anytime someone uses a technical legal standard to obsfucate the facts of their conduct. Gingrich did lie.

Please note that Cain, the subject of the “what if he lied to the nation?” post, is not under oath, therefore perjury is not an issue. If Cain is lying, his lie “to the nation” is no different than Gingrich’s lie to the nation about his affair or Clinton’s lie to the nation (during the press conference, not under oath) about his affair.

That is all.

I have no clue how you took from my post that I in any way had disdain for the facts or saw a moral equivalence between Gingrich and Clinton. But I can assure you neither of those points is correct.

Thanks.

[nathanbedford]

There is a difference between allegations which are unproven and allegations which are wholly unsupported with proof.

The allegations against Herman Cain are supported with proof from many sources which have been catalogued time and again on these threads. The proof is not conclusive but I find it persuasive. My judgment is subjective but I have so stipulated. Therefore, it is not fair to charge me with "savaging" Mr. Cain for expressing an opinion or for citing poll numbers. My subjective conclusion is related to the facts and therefore it is rational and within the bounds of fair comment.

Moreover, my opinion is shared by enough of the electorate that Herman Cain's poll numbers have absolutely plummeted.

My reply #143 was in response to an assertion that Gingrich will be subject to attack because of his history. My response is to say that any Republican nominee will will be demagogued and the question is will we have a candidate who can effectively overcome the demagoguery? My argument is that Newt Gingrich is the best equipped in the field to dominate the campaign and overcome this problem.

Do you really want to compare Gingrich's ability to respond to the attacks with Herman Cain's proven inability credibly to respond to the demagoguery?

[CainConservative]

#OReilly 2 Newt: “Do u think Mr. Cain is done aftr new accusstion? True 2 form, Newt says NO. “Only Obama is done.” #Classy 1 hour ago Favorite Retweet

On Nov. 25th @RasmussenPoll reports #Cain w/ 3pt lead on #Mitt On Nov. 28th we get a new #Cain accusation. They want the #CainTrain stopped! 1 hour ago Favorite Retweet

[DB]

‘But I am very happy with his record of balancing four budgets, reforming welfare, shutting down the government, going toe to toe with Bill Clinton, fashioning the Gingrich “revolution.”’

I have to say, that is the best argument that has been made for Gingrich. And as you say, what else is there to choose from. Frankly I’ve been hoping for a miracle, as in someone jumping in that will fight for core conservative principles and be able to articulate it in a manner that makes people excited and hopeful for the future. But that really would be a miracle at this point...

[csense]

Do you really want to compare Gingrich's ability to respond to the attacks with Herman Cain's proven inability credibly to respond to the demagoguery?

And that's pretty much what it's going to come down to. In the final analysis, who is going to be able to stand their ground in the general election. Reasonable, intelligent people who are watching all this, already know the answer to that.

[gardencatz]

Actually I saw that. It actually flashed by so fast I couldn’t see anything but be that as it may, I don’t know whether you’ve ever had friends of the opposite sex or not, but I do. I text back and forth with my son’s best friend all the time. They’ve been friends since they were 12 through homeschool, soccer and the Marine Corps. We have some pretty racy teasing back and forth. I just sent one to my son a couple of days ago that said, “hey baby, you hot, sweet thang...” and his response to me was “awwww, mom!” So while this may be exactly what she says it is (though I think the biggest sin would be that someone with his money couldn’t attract a better class of whore). If it is then so be it. I’d just like to have at least the same amount of proof required to NOT convict Casey Anthony.

I don’t want just cell phone bills, I want to see the back and forth...how many were to and how many from. I want receipts, cards, gifts, plane reservations, etc. You don’t play hide the salami for 13 years and not have anything more than a cell phone bill. I’d bet if you checked Cain’s phone bill you’ll see a lot of numbers...text and phone calls. Probably some of the busiest ones are between supporters and campaign workers...probably a whole lot more than 60 (I text that much in just a couple of days with my sister).

The burden of proof is on the one making the accusation. And I’m just unwilling to see someone’s reputation ruined because without a higher burden of proof. You know, I’m 52 years old but there’s one thing from high school I’ll never forget. There was a girl in school named Becky. She was sweet but very shy and quiet. Somewhere along the way people decided she was a slut and she was viciously teased and ridiculed. Every guy “had” her. Except they hadn’t. But boy everyone thought they had proof and every guy said Becky was a notch on his belt. Got knocked around a couple of times by girls who thought she’d slept with their boyfriends. One day we all came to school and found out she’d killed herself. The sad part is everyone realized it wasn’t true when it was too late. That has stuck with me all this time. It was a hard lesson, but most hard for Becky’s family.

This kind of thing without solid evidence is just the same. It’s not just Herman Cain, but his family. His wife, kids & grandkids. If it’s true, shame on him but not one of us is in high school anymore and we should be adult enough to require solid proof before dragging someone through the mud. So, I don’t have “little blinders” on, I’d just like a bit more proof than a phone bill, especially when she had a restraining order from stalking once before.

Cindie

[not2worry]

If Newt is the nominee he will never survive the trash that will come out about his history in the House. He has lots of enemies both R and D who know where his skeletons are hidden.

Another four years of Obama.

[caww]

Cindie...Cain is not a college graduate still texting to his class mates. He’s a 60 some odd aged man, CEO of a company and then some, and knows full well you don’t have a female friend you make 60 odd calls to over just four months while helping her finacially WITHOUT your wife being included and or approval of.

[budwiesest]

This is getting monotonous. Herman's head is in the right place but his zipper may not be. Are we to consider nominating a serial philanderer who happens to hold 'conservative' ideals? One whose foreign policy gaffes are second only to the number of accused improper sexual liasons?

One or two and I'm not impressed- in fact, I'd expect nothing less from Obama's Personal Character Destruction Team as his rise from Chicago streets began this way. Twice.

Herman may be the victim of a Grand Slaughter by Axelgrease and Friends, or, he has a sordid past that wasn't vetted too well. Which is it, folks? Vetting him was my first question after Sarah bowed out.

If all of this is smear, and can be proven, then we have a much bigger problem on our hands. The Left suddenly becomes not a target of our disdain, but actual targets for skull crushing. See, stealing an election can happen two ways: voter fraud or candidate smear that goes beyond the pale, neither should be tolerated.

We HAVE to present to the public a candidate as Pure as Snow because we are conservatives. Americans are savy as Hell (these days)- they'll spot a conservative with a blemish a mile away, and if they don't, the media will help them. David Gregory sure would because he represents all things dick.

Speaking of dicks, were I to run for President, I might have to institute a 6-6-6 plan- lest some bimbo seek fame by refuting it. Ironically, my plan could actually help America more by being less of a 'dick' (note: these are unofficial measurements) than the ones running.

[TexasFreeper2009]

what I think is really weird about all this ... is that all these girls really seem to LIKE Cain... heck even the one who claims he tried to practically molest her seemed to say he did it in a very gentlemanly way.

This is just beyond weird.

[Recovering_Democrat]

Is this the same O’Reilly who wanted to scrub his producer with a louffe sponge?

[fortheDeclaration]

Give me a break!

[fortheDeclaration]

As a Giant fan, I knew the beating was coming-we stink!

[gardencatz]

I’m not young either but I text all the time. It’s a quick and easy way to touch base with people. And we’ve seen very little of the phone bill to know how many calls he made/she made or anything else. There’s no freaking way to tell what the heck is going on. It’s perfectly fine if that’s enough proof for you. Perhaps that makes you better or smarter than me but I want to be able to see the dang thing close enough to make a judgement. Are there 59 calls from her and one from him? Are there 30 from each? Are there 45 calls from her and 15 from him? It matters. When you consider she’s already had a stalking charge it seems important to know whether she’s incessantly calling him and he’s called her a only a couple of times. Do you know for a fact his wife doesn’t know? Can you give me a link to where Mr. or Mrs. Cain said she doesn’t know anything about this woman and/or didn’t know he was trying to help her with a job because I think I missed it. As I’ve said before, if he’s guilty shame on him but I’m simply not going to make assumptions based on her word and a phone list that flashed across a screen for about 2 seconds.

Cindie

[csense]

what I think is really weird about all this ... is that all these girls really seem to LIKE Cain...

Especially this last one. She spoke very respectful of him and I gotta' tell 'ya, she gave every indication of being sincere, and I think that's how people are going to perceive it. The other two, something was missing, but this one, this is the one that's going to do him in. Pretty much every news outlet in the country right now is looking for evidence to support the allegation, and if it is true, they'll find it soon enough. My guess is, that they will, and I base that upon Herman Cain's own behavior. If what these women say is not true, then they are simply lying and there's no getting around that yet most times, during interviews, he seems to need prompting from the interviewer to use that very word. He's hesitant. Believe me, that doesn't go unnoticed.

[TexasFreeper2009]

yep, I think this is the straw that broke the camels back, such a shame, I feel sorry for his family, this is going to destroy their lives.

Who in the world would run for president if they had done these kinds of things? did he not think this would come out? Why can’t men keep it in their freaking pants!

seriously, I need to sit down and do some soul searching over who I want to support now.

[DB]

So out of curiosity, did you do all this rationalizing about Anthony Weiner too?

[DB]

I’m no Gingrich fan but post #161 makes a the best argument I’ve seen for him.