PJ: I would have thought that more would be made about Herman Cain's total lack of knowledge about international affairs such as not knowing that China is already (and has been for more than forty years) a nuclear power. I would have thought that they would question the knowledge of a presidential candidate who does not understand the process of amending the US Constitution. But then again, in international circles, we have watched US politics focus on the sexual activity of their politicians, their Christian credentials and their stance on abortion more than they seem to focus on their candidates substantive qualifications.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Embattled Cain facing third harassment claim
By Simon Mann
PRESIDENTIAL hopeful Herman Cain has branded a third allegation of sexual harassment levelled against him as ''baseless'', while his camp accused the team of Republican rival Rick Perry of inciting a ''smear campaign'' against the former pizza chain executive.
In turn, the Perry camp pointed the finger at the campaign of Mitt Romney, as the controversy continued to drown out Mr Cain's campaign message.
Speaking on the hustings in Virginia, the 65-year-old businessman accused his rivals of trying to destroy his bid for the Republican nomination. But he insisted he would defeat them.
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''There is a force at work here that is much greater than those that would try to destroy me and destroy this campaign,'' he told reporters. ''That force is called the voice of the people. That's why we are doing as well as we are.''
Associated Press reported that a third woman was claiming that she had also considered filing a workplace complaint against Mr Cain in the late 1990s when he was the head of a restaurant lobby group and during which time the association settled two similar harassment claims against him.
According to the woman, Mr Cain had made sexually suggestive remarks or gestures and had invited her to his corporate apartment.
At the same time, a man with links to Mr Perry's campaign, and who had worked as a researcher at the restaurant association, said in a radio interview that he had witnessed an incident involving Mr Cain and one of the women in a Washington restaurant.
''If she comes out and talks about it … it'll probably be the end of his campaign,'' Chris Wilson told a radio station in Oklahoma, where he now lives. ''It was only a matter of time, because so many people were aware of what took place, so many people were aware of her situation - the fact she left.''
The Cain camp alleged political opportunism, noting Mr Wilson's links to a committee working on behalf of Mr Perry, but Mr Wilson denied he had tipped off Politico, the website that first revealed the payouts at the association.
Mr Cain's chief of staff demanded an apology from the Perry camp, which also denied involvement. Its subsequent accusation that the Romney campaign was likely to blame was likewise rejected. The Cain camp has also accused the ''left-wing media'' for fanning the controversy.
The imbroglio intensified further as it emerged that one of the two women who left the National Restaurant Association with a payout no longer intended going public with details of her story because of the media frenzy.
Her lawyer, Joel Bennett, told The New York Times that he intended asking the association to allow him to release a statement on his client's behalf offering a version of events different from Mr Cain's account.
Mr Cain, who has been well ahead of his rivals in opinion polls, initially denied knowledge of the payouts this week, but said later he was aware of the settlements that had been negotiated. However, he denies having harassed anyone in his four decades of working life.
http://www.smh.com.au/world/embattled-cain-facing-third-harassment-claim-20111103-1mxtq.html
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