The statement "Herman Cain's trade organization reached a settlement with women who accused Cain of sexual harassment" is a fact, not an allegation. Let me show you what an allegation looks like.
11/1/2011:
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: Do you think that race, being a strong black conservative, has anything to do with the fact that you've been so charged, and if so, do you have any evidence to support that?
HERMAN CAIN: I believe the answer is yes, but we do not have any evidence to support it.
See? Right there! That's the difference between a fact and an allegation! The giveaway there is really the phrase, "we do not have any evidence to support it"! The thing that is being brought up in the news is a fact! D'oh!
But to be fair to Herman Cain, who needs evidence that this is all a racist plot? It's common sense! I mean, you never see allegations of sexual misconduct being thrown at white politicians that whoa....
Is that a....? I'm sorry, I don't know why we have a picture of a dachshund under a blanket, but um....
And by the way, what Herman Cain is going through, it's not because he's black. It's because he's become the frontrunner. That's when people start poking around.
Video and full transcript below the fold.
We begin tonight with Herman Cain, and the biggest story to come out of the National Restaurant Association since that group was forced by the National Rifle Association to give up their acronym. "Ya feel lucky, National Restaurant Association?" Every day we learn more about whether the....
(interrupted by wild audience laughter)
I see we have art aficionados in the crowd tonight.
Every day we learn more about whether the association settled a 1990 sexual harassment charge leveled against its then-leader Herman Cain. And when I say "we" learn more, I am including in that, Herman Cain.
HERMAN CAIN (10/31/2011): I am unaware of any sort of settlement. I hope it wasn't for much, because I didn't do anything.
That was Monday morning. Clearly, by Monday night, Mr. Cain had attended some type of awareness-raising seminar.
HERMAN CAIN (10/31/2011): I was aware that an agreement was reached. The word settlement versus the word agreement, you know, I'm not sure what they called it.
That could throw anyone off. I mean, that.... Did I settle a sexual harassment case? Oh... you mean the agreement... to settle the sexual harassment case. I'm sorry, it's just that that terminology, in the restaurant business, we call it money to go. Carry out cash. We wrap it in foil, shape it like a swan, it's quite lovely actually.
How much was the agreement for?
HERMAN CAIN (10/31/2011): Maybe three months salary. ... It might have been two months, I don't remember the exact number.
HERMAN CAIN (11/1/2011): Somewhere in the vicinity of three to six months severance pay.
CHUCK TODD (11/2/2011): The New York Times is reporting the first woman to accuse Mr. Cain of inappropriate behavior ... was paid a one year's severance package to leave, $35,000.
$10 million and a Maserati, that is my final offer! Look, all I said to her was, "What's the difference between ladies night and my pants? In my pants, the ladies get in free every night."
That would be a terrible business model. The pants would never make it through....
Now, you might well ask why all of a sudden Herman Cain was remembering things about this case.
11/1/2011:
ROBIN MEADE: You know why is it, all of a sudden, that you remembered things about it yesterday? Were you informed, or were you told more about the case yesterday?
HERMAN CAIN: No. No. I just started to remember more.
You know, everyone talks about how traumatic being sexually harassed is, but nobody talks about how traumatic it is to be the harasser, and you repress a lot of those memories. I would bet his therapist is delighted about the breakthrough that is happening in this case.
But of course, for Herman Cain, the hardest part of this more-than-a-decade-old settlement is dealing with the element of surprise.
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER (11/1/2011): You, contending for the presidency, the office of highest authority, all of a sudden get hit with a sexual harassment charge.
Nah-da-di-di-di-dee! He didn't all of a sudden get hit with a sexual harassment charge. The 1990s are not "all of a sudden". And second, what's happening now is not a sexual harassment charge. It's purely the disclosure of factual information about a leading presidential candidate's employment history. That's all this is. The statement "Herman Cain's trade organization reached a settlement with women who accused Cain of sexual harassment" is a fact, not an allegation. Let me show you what an allegation looks like.
11/1/2011:
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: Do you think that race, being a strong black conservative, has anything to do with the fact that you've been so charged, and if so, do you have any evidence to support that?
HERMAN CAIN: I believe the answer is yes, but we do not have any evidence to support it.
See? Right there! That's the difference between a fact and an allegation! The giveaway there is really the phrase, "we do not have any evidence to support it"! The thing that is being brought up in the news is a fact! D'oh!
But to be fair to Herman Cain, who needs evidence that this is all a racist plot? It's common sense! I mean, you never see allegations of sexual misconduct being thrown at white politicians that whoa....
Is that a....? I'm sorry, I don't know why we have a picture of a dachshund under a blanket, but um....
And by the way, what Herman Cain is going through, it's not because he's black. It's because he's become the frontrunner. That's when people start poking around. Back when Rick Perry was the frontrunner, we found out about where he hunted. When Michele Bachmann was the frontrunner, we found out about this.
If you think this sort of scrutiny is something new because you're black and conservative, Bill Ayres, Jeremiah Wright, and young Obama in Muslim garb would like to have a few words with you.
But I will agree with those conservatives on one thing. We shouldn't let this Cain scandal from the restaurant association distract us from other, more troubling issues.
10/31/2011:
JUDY WOODRUFF: Do you view China as a potential military threat to the United States?
HERMAN CAIN: Yes, they're a military threat. They've indicated that they're trying to develop nuclear capability and they want to develop more aircraft carriers like we have. So yes, we have to consider them a military threat.
Yes. China has indicated it would like to develop nuclear capability. Perhaps as soon as the 1960s. Worse yet, I understand that the Chinese at this very moment, are on the verge of developing a cookie that can predict the future! How do you defeat an enemy whose pastries know what you're going to do next? That's the scandal! We'll be right back.
, from the sexual harassment to his dumbass foreign policy answers.
on income inequality with, of course, his own unique solution.
, not that Fox News or Bill O'Reilly will report on this, or what Stephen noted was the real waste here.