herman cainRepublican presidential candidate Herman Cain has not been having a good couple of weeks. On October 30, Politico reported that he had been hit with two charges of sexual assault during his time as the CEO of the National Restaurant Association (NRA). Both women signed settlements that gave them some money in exchange for their silence.

That doesn’t necessarily mean anything; it just means that a couple of women made some claims, and they got some money to stop making said claims. It happens all the time, and it is not an admission of guilt by the accused. Cutting a check to the finger-pointer in a sexual harassment case is a lot cheaper than trying to prove that someone didn’t say or do something that was offensive to another person.

Most sexual harassment cases are very he said, she said, with little or no proof to verify either person’s story, and believe it or not, not all people have hearts of gold. Some may even try to fabricate a story in order to get some money, or even to hurt another person for whatever reason. Sexual harassment is a real, horrible, demeaning thing, but we cannot assume that everyone accused of it has committed it.

Last week, Herman Cain told us what had happened that made one of the women uncomfortable enough to file a claim. Apparently, they were alone together, and he told her she was his wife’s height, just about up to his chin. He then pointed to his chin. I don’t know about you guys, but I always get so turned on when my husband tells me I come up to his chin!

Amide the media outrage over the supposed sex scandal, a third woman anonymously claimed that Cain had also made untoward advances to her. Again, we have no idea who the woman is, or what it was that made her uncomfortable.

On Monday, attorney Gloria Allred held a press conference with her client, Sharon Bialek, who is the fourth woman to claim harassment against Herman Cain, and the first to do so publicly. She claims that Mr. Cain put his hand on her thigh, and pushed her head toward his crotch. When Bialek said no and asked to be driven to her hotel, Cain stopped and drove her back to her hotel. Where he left her alone.

The whole story seems fishy, and Gloria Allred’s involvement doesn’t exactly instill confidence that anything actually did happen. This chick has become a media sensation by representing women with sensational, unsubstantiated claims of abuse or discrimination.

There’s probably no way to ever know what really happened regarding these women and their involvement with Herman Cain. But until there is conclusive proof, let’s not jump to any conclusions. 

 

Image via Roberthufstutter/Flickr