Can Herman Cain be the next Bill Clinton?
11/09/2011
Women love Bill Clinton. Even after Clinton wagged his finger at the television camera and angrily said, "I did not have sex with that woman."
Even after they watched Chelsea walk between her parents as they headed toward Marine One, the presidential helicopter.
When it was all over, Clinton made a trip to Miami. After his speech, women rushed the rope line to shake his hand and be close to him.
Why? Crowley Political Report has asked that question of many women over the years. They smile. They agree what Clinton did was wrong.
But they like him and they are willing to ignore his sexual transgressions.
So far, Herman Cain has not been accused of anything nearly as severe as the misconduct of Bill Clinton.
Cain has steadfastedly denied doing anything wrong. The women who have come forward have, at this point, largely accused Cain of the kind of boorish behavior often committed by a 14-year old.
Two of the women, Karen Kraushaar and Sharon Bialek, are preparing to have a joint press conference to talk more about their allegations. Other women may join them.
Cain says they are liars.
Someone is lying.
The fact is, that while Cain denies the accusations and supporters defend him, the questions will linger - even if he becomes the GOP nominee. Even if he becomes the next president.
What his campaign must calculate now, is whether Cain will be granted the same political immunity that was given to Bill Clinton.
Will women voters feel the same way about Cain as they did Clinton?
And do women voters need to hear from Cain's wife, before they make a decision about Cain?
What would Bill do?
Of course there is one major difference between Bill and Herman. Clinton was accused of consensual relations with other women. Cain is being accused of unwanted behavior.
I just wrote the following article which will shed some light on this post.
The Difference Between Hermain Cain and Bill Clinton: Hillary Clinton, by Kirby Sommers
An article in the Daily News last week claims that Herman Cain is making Bill Clinton look like an innocent. I disagree.
It starts like this:
‘The TV reporter asked the married presidential candidate about a woman who was claiming they’d carried on a secret romance.
“Was she a friend, an acquaintance?”
“I would say a friendly acquaintance.”
“She is alleging . . . a 12-year affair with you.”
“That allegation is false,” the candidate shot back.
The candidate was Bill Clinton on “60 Minutes” back in 1992. Hillary was at his side.
The Clinton campaign had just been rocked by the sultry Gennifer Flowers, who held a bizarre New York news conference to release tapes of her late-night pillow talk with Bill, then the governor of Arkansas. '
Indeed Cain has brought to mind some of the more colorful Clinton denials. Like his Gennifer Flowers “acquaintance” moment when Ginger White alleged they had a 13-year affair. White was an “acquaintance,” Cain insisted on CNN, in much the same manner Clinton did some 20 years earlier when confronted about Flowers.
There are many similarities between the two men’s scandals. These include an almost identical finger-wagging, self-righteous rebuttal when Cain was questioned about the four women who have accused him of sexual harassment.
Clinton was also accused of forcing himself on women. Remember Paula Jones? Sure you do. How about Juanita Broaddrick? Do you remember her?
Broaddrick was an Arkansas woman who worked on Clinton's campaign when he was attorney general. On April 25, 1978 she was brutally raped by Bill Clinton during his first run as Governor for the state of Arkansas.
She told NBC's Lisa Meyers the story. NBC, under intense pressure by the White House at the time, shelved the interview. It wasn’t until Broaddrick took her story to The Wall Street Journal that it became public.
The Journal went into some detail about the horrible ordeal of Mrs. Broaddrick:
‘ Mr. Clinton … got her onto the bed, held her down forcibly and bit her lips. The sexual entry itself was not without some pain, she recalls, because of her stiffness and resistance. When it was over, she says, he looked down at her and said not to worry, he was sterile -- he had had mumps when he was a child.
"I felt paralyzed and was starting to cry," recounts Broaddrick.
As he got to the door, she remembers, he turned.
"This is the part that always stays in my mind--the way he put on his sunglasses. Then he looked at me and said, 'You better put some ice on that.' And then he left." ‘
In an interview on Fox News that can be seen here, Broaddrick claims that Hillary Clinton has always covered up for Bill. She adds that Hillary thanked her for keeping quiet and that she (Hillary) accepted it all because of power and money.
And this is where Cain and Clinton’s similarities end.
While Clinton may have had no moral code of conduct as it pertained to his wife or to his constituents; having in fact an equally power hungry wife, Cain appears to at least have a conscious – even if only with Gloria Cain. After resigning as the Presidential candidate, he said: ”I am at peace with my wife. And she is at peace with me!"
2011 Copyright Kirby Sommers
Posted by: Kirby Sommers | 12/05/2011 at 01:55 PM