With a fine history of playing the press/media like a finely tuned violin.
Posted on 11/29/2011 8:31:38 AM PST by Kaslin
**See updates below**
An Atlanta television station is preparing to air a report in which a woman accuses presidential candidate Herman Cain of carrying on an extramarital affair with her for 13 years. Cain broke the news himself in a 'prebuttal' interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer moments ago. "Here we go again," he sighed. A quick summary of his assertions:
- There was no affair, and there will be no proof of an affair. Under questioning from Blitzer, Cain said there was no sex.
- He knew the woman in question for a number of years.
- He is increasingly worried about how this deluge of allegations may affect his family, not just his campaign.
- An "infinite number" of future accusers could still come forward.
- Race "could be" a factor in some of these accusations.
- He has nothing to hide. He said this accuser is -- or was -- "a friend" whom he helped when she was unemployed.
- He is not dropping out of the race.
- He plans on enjoying a "steak dinner" tonight, saying if you've done "nothing wrong," there's no cause for angst.
At one point in the interview (video available here), Cain said he's confident evidence will prove this is "probably something else that is baseless." That "probably" set off a mini-storm on Twitter, but Cain's confident follow-up that there would be no evidence backing up this woman's story put that to rest. Stay tuned, the story is dropping at 6pm tonight. If this is more he said/she said innuendo, voters will quickly tune it out. If there's incriminating evidence, however, Cain is finished because his personal credibility would be shattered. I'll say this: Cain performed very, very well in this interview. He seemed at ease and fluid. Getting out in front of this new wrinkle also marks a major improvement over his campaign's previous mishandling of similar crises.
UPDATE - Early details emerge:
Georgia Woman Claims 13-Year Affair with Herman Cain: MyFoxATLANTA.com
Cain's attorney has released a statement, which doesn't exactly scream "my client is innocent." It's more like, "mind your own damn business, media:
"Mr. Cain has been informed today that your television station plans to broadcast a story this evening in which a female will make an accusation that she engaged in a 13-year long physical relationship with Mr. Cain. This is not an accusation of harassment in the workplace – this is not an accusation of an assault - which are subject matters of legitimate inquiry to a political candidate.
Rather, this appears to be an accusation of private, alleged consensual conduct between adults - a subject matter which is not a proper subject of inquiry by the media or the public. No individual, whether a private citizen, a candidate for public office or a public official, should be questioned about his or her private sexual life. The public's right to know and the media's right to report has boundaries and most certainly those boundaries end outside of one's bedroom door.
Mr. Cain has alerted his wife to this new accusation and discussed it with her. He has no obligation to discuss these types of accusations publicly with the media and he will not do so even if his principled position is viewed unfavorably by members of the media."
Okay, but Cain just went on national television to talk about these accusations. The "respect our privacy" defense isn't going to fly, especially when Cain's supposed sexual partner has chosen to tell her story on television. Were Cain and his attorney not on the same page?
UPDATE II - Is this really just a private matter?
UPDATE III - Cain's denials on CNN:
UPDATE IV - More details:
Ginger White says she met Herman Cain in the late 90s in Louisville, Kentucky, when as president of the National Restaurant Association, he made a presentation. She was impressed. She says they shared drinks afterwards and he invited her back to his hotel room. “’I'd like to see you again,’” White said Cain told her. “’You are beautiful to me, and I would love for us to continue this friendship.’” She says in his hotel room, he pulled out a calendar and invited her to meet him in Palm Springs. She accepted, and she says the affair began.
“He made it very intriguing,” White told FOX 5. “It was fun. It was something that took me away from my humdrum life at the time. And it was exciting.” She says he gave her his newly-published book, Leadership is Common Sense, and he wrote: “Miss G, you have already made a 'big difference!’ Stay focused as you pursue your next destination." She says during the next 13 years, he would fly her to cities where he was speaking and he lavished her with gifts. She says they often stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Buckhead and dined at The Four Seasons restaurant. She says he never harassed her, never treated her poorly, and was the same man you see on the campaign trail.
Any proof?
She says the physical relationship ended about eight months ago, right before Cain announced he was running for president. But the communication did not. When we asked for any corroborating evidence, she pointed us to her cell phone contacts. One name: Herman Cain. She showed us some of her cell phone bills that included 61 phone calls or text messages to or from a number starting with 678. She says it is Herman Cain's private cell phone. The calls were made during four different months-- calls or texts made as early as 4:26 in the early morning, and as late as 7:52 at night. The latest were in September of this year.
“We've never worked together,” said White. “And I can't imagine someone phoning or texting me for the last two and a half years, just because.” We texted the number and Herman Cain called us back. He told us he "knew Ginger White" but said these are "more false allegations." He said she had his number because he was "trying to help her financially.”
Why come forward now?
She says she planned on keeping the relationship a secret while Cain made his run for the White House until she and her family watched reports of different women who had accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment. She says she was not surprised by the allegations, but was bothered by the way Cain fought back, attacking the woman, including during an appearance on Late Show with David Letterman. “It bothered me that they were being demonized, sort of, they were treated as if they were automatically lying, and the burden of proof was on them,” White said. “I felt bad for them.”
Does Ms. White have a past that may call her veracity into question?
Before our interview, we checked into Ginger White's background. We found she filed a sexual harassment claim against an employer in 2001. That case was settled. We also found a bankruptcy filing nearly 23 years ago in Kentucky, and a number of eviction notices here in DeKalb County over the past six years. The most recent happened this month. Ms. White says she has been unemployed, and she is a single mom with two kids struggling to make ends meet.
We also found a lawsuit filed by a former business partner, Kimberly Vay, who once sought a "stalking temporary protective order" against Ms. White for "repeated e-mails/texts threatening lawsuit and defamation of character." The case was dismissed; but was followed by a libel lawsuit against Ms. White. A judge entered an order in favor of Kimberly Vay because Ms. White failed to respond to the lawsuit.
Alright, unofficial Townhall jury: Thoughts? White's last legal troubles and current financial straits are legitimate issues to raise in assessing her credibility, so kudos to Fox 5 Atlanta for exploring those questions. To me, the cell phone records could be the smoking gun. During the four-month stretch covered by the bill she provided, there were 61 calls or texts exchanged with Cain's personal cell phone number. That averages out to roughly one contact every other day, which seems like an awful lot. I would like to know how many of those calls and texts were originated by Cain, though, versus the other way around. If this woman overwhelmingly peppered him with contacts, that's a lot less incriminating. Parting thought: Anyone coming around to the "where there's this much smoke, there must be fire" conclusion?
UPDATE V - Full video from Atlanta's Fox 5 News:
Georgia Woman Claims 13-Year Affair with Herman Cain: MyFoxATLANTA.com
Put up or shut up.
OTOH, if he's clever enough to cover it up for 13 years, he can make a fortune teaching others how to do it. Just sayin'.
Anyone coming around to the “where there’s this much smoke, there must be fire” conclusion?
Doe anyone remember the allogations of Meg Whitmans maid? Does anyone know the outcome? Was everything dropped once she lost?
What about Palin’s ethics charges? Dropped?
What about Cains’ first set of accusers? Dropped?
How about charges in my congressional district on Tom Ganley? Dropped?
What about Stevens (now deceased-rest his soul) ethics charges in Alaska? Dropped?
What about the guy Obama ran against for Senate against? Charges dropped?
Anyone see an endless pattern of Dems making false accusations just in time to win the race? There are so many, I could go on and on and on and on....
And why exactly are these candidates made to answer charges that have not passed the smell test? Why are the accusers of republican candidates automatically assumed to be truthful? These are all political hack jobs. Why else would they have waited for them to have a fighting chance at winning the nomination before they level these charges? Even this one does not pass the smell test. She actually said she came out because the other accusers were treated so badly. Umm...Isn’t that a better reason NOT to say anything?
Is Atlanta Fox 5 gonna fire-up Sam and Dave singing “Soul Man” in the background of this report?
Herman Cain is still my candidate who I plan to vote for in our primary on March 6, 2011, unless he drops out before then. Which I hope he won’t
That is not how the GOP works.
The GOP are a bunch of predictable lemmings, which is why I no longer associate myself with it.
Its not 60 calls/texts over 13 years... the phone records show they’re over a 4 month period.
Do you have any friends (not co-workers) of the opposite sex that you’ve had 60+ phone calls/texts over the past 4 months? This one will be tough to explain.
There are a few questions I would like to ask this woman. I won’t list them here, but they would be personal and only someone who actually HAD an affair with him would know the answers.
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Your statement has me laughing pretty hard.
How in God’s name would you know whether her answers would be truthful unless you are A) Herman Cain himself, B) Herman Cain’s very successful stalker, C) Ginger White’s very successful stalker, or D) you’ve had an affair with Herman Cain yourself?
“And if Herman Cain should get a Lewinsky while in the Oval Office - who cares, right?”
Right. I don’t care. The vast majority of the nation doesn’t care what these people do in their private lives, why do you?
What four month period? A 4 month period in the 90’s or a 4 month period this past spring?
Sorry to disagree Tom, but Cain is cooked. What bothers me even more than whether or not Cain has been sticking his pepperoni in the wrong places is the lack of any credible answers to these accusations.
The sexual harassment settlements are facts, not accusations. The texts and phone records are facts, not accusations. If this lady is a stalker who was constantly texting the pizza man, he could have easily buried this story with evidence of just that. Instead, he has his attorney release an almost admission of his affair and say he does not have to talk about it.
Even more troubling to me is the lifestyle Mr. Cain seemed to live with other people’s money. He left the NRA BEFORE his term was up, I would be very interested to find out exactly why. The common thread between the harassment allegations and this lady is that the Hermanator likes to stay at the Ritz Carletons and Four Seasons of the word and dine at the finest restaurants, all on somebody elses dime.
I am certainly not an OWS type, but having run businesses for other people for over 20 years, I have traveled a fair bit and always been modest in spending my employers money for such things as hotels and restaurants.
This just in, Cain is getting ready to pull out.
:: Cain’s attorney has released a statement, which doesn’t exactly scream “my client is innocent.” It’s more like, “mind your own damn business, media” ::
It is a statement designed to “pre-empt” Cain’s answering this and subsequent questions in detail about his private sex life (Recall that Jack Ryan did nothing illegal but once it came out that he was “kinda kinky”, he was ruined.)
If Cain discusses particulars of this, he would set a precedent that could extend to his and his wife’s proclivities in the boudoir.
It was just a statement, it was not directed at you personally, dear. Now I have my rehab appointment.
With a fine history of playing the press/media like a finely tuned violin.
From the fine article:
"During the four-month stretch covered by the bill she provided, there were 61 calls or texts exchanged with Cain's personal cell phone number."
So. As long as it’s legal - you don’t care if a candidate cheats on his wife? Or if Cain were to be caught cheating with his boyfriend? That’s OK with you?
Seriously - you need to take your liberal views to the DUmp.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/
It said the calls/texts were “TO or from” the apparent Cain number.
She has already been accused, in a court of law, of being a stalker.
We don’t know if it was 60 calls/texts TO Cain, and one text back saying “Leave me the hell alone”, or if it was the other way around.
Be careful about the media and their choice of words.
Where there’s smoke, there’s mirrors.
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