Herman Cain in Trouble

He was the surprise guest of the race for the Republican nomination for president. Boom! Here is Herman Cain, former owner of a pizza chain, entangled in several sexual harassment cases.

In October, the Washington Post had nominated Herman Cain, former owner of a pizza chain, as flavor of the month. In surveys, the black candidate created a surprise. Not content to double Rick Perry, the ultra-reactionary governor of Texas, the political novice nips at the heels of Mitt Romney, the favorite to win the Republican nomination. But Cain had only two recipes in his pocket: Install an electric fence along the Mexican border to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing it and opt for a single tax rate of 9 percent on income, businesses and consumers — a “9-9-9 plan” based on the rules of the video game SimCity!

“Simplicity is genius,” repeated the outsider, telling those who derided him as inexperienced that Romney’s career was “turned to Wall Street,” while his was “facing America’s every day.” * An argument that hit the nail on the head in a country in crisis.

“Inappropriate behavior”

But boom! Within two months of the early primary, the website Politico revealed that the former king of pizza was accused of sexual harassment in the 1990s. According to the New York Times, two women left the National Restaurant Association, which he headed at the time, with compensation and a promise never to discuss the case. The lawyer for one of them confirmed that his client was the victim of “repeatedly inappropriate behavior” and received compensation of $35,000 (€25,400). Meanwhile, a third employee said that she had thought of complaining, and a fourth woman, Sharon Bialek, talked at a press conference of being harassed by Cain when she sought his help to find work. He “slipped his hand under [her] skirt” and moved her head closer to his sex when they were alone in a car. “I asked him to stop and he stopped,” she said.

Cain initially denied everything, accusing Perry of orchestrating a campaign of “defamation” to “sabotage” his candidacy. A few days later, he admitted to the existence of a mutual agreement with an employee, stating that as far as the negotiations went, “the lawyer for the prosecution realized that, without a witness, the complaint did not add up.” “All charges against Mr. Cain are completely false,”* proclaimed his campaign. In the latest polls, his popularity is not too badly affected, but these were taken before the testimony of Ms. Bialek.

*Editor’s note: The preceding quotes, although accurately translated, could not be independently verified.