Poor Cain; is he Able?

Herman Cain has gotten very testy and combative with the media lately over persistent questions about allegations of sexual improprieties when he was head of the Restaurant Association lobby back in the 1990's. He has changed his story so many times that it would take an accountant to keep track. He tries to put a stop to questions and to direct what the media will ask and what he chooses to answer.

We may recall that other "so-called" candidates thought that they could control or muzzle the media, and that they could choose what was reported. Christine O'Donnell walked off an interview because she could not pick and choose the interview questions. Palin blamed the "lame-stream" media for her being characterized as uninformed and vapid [history suggests that the characterization was more accurate than not]. Now Cain calls the media "nit picky" because it demands details of allegations pertaining to his past conduct and character.

Gloria Allred now announces that she has a client who was harassed by Cain and is willing to come forward, in light of Cain's declarations that he "never" harassed any female subordinate. That was a dangerous public proclamation by someone who knew that there were at least two settlement agreements to buy silence of women who had made formal and specific allegations against him. It is true that Allred is a "self-promoter" but we cannot forget that Cain is one as well. No amount of deflection [that Allred contributed to Democratic candidates] can erase the factual testimony of witnesses. If Allred's client is credible, and the fact that she is one of multiple independent accusers suggests that she probably is, then Cain has to face up to the events and explain why they do not disqualify him for office requiring public trust.

The deflection toward Democrat supporters when Cain has already taken the public position that the leak came from the Perry [GOP] campaign is inconsistent and makes Cain look desperate. The so-called "advisor" [who is white, by the way] that called the current situation a "high tech lynching" certainly did Cain no favors. He should be fired immediately. While race is an issue in some aspects of Cain's candidacy, and he has made it so by denigrating Black folk as "brainwashed" because they don't support his candidacy, these allegations of sexual impropriety have little to do with race. They are no more racial than the allegations against Clinton, Spitzer or Wilbur Mills and a host of other male politicians of all colors and political stripes.

My grandfather used to remind me that: "when you step up to start a fight, don't forget that you have to bring your own nose along. And it might just get bloodied too!" Cain wants to be treated as a serious candidate. He had better wise up and learn that he is playing on a bigger stage than he has ever tried before. The stakes and the risks are all much higher. If he does not have the character, stomach, skills and staff to handle the challenge, he should sit down and shut up.

[Pawlenty and Palin have vanished to obscurity. The same should go for Bachman, but some people are not bright enough to realize when they have lost.]