The troubles seemed to grow for Republican Presidential hopeful Herman Cain on Thursday, as websites filled with somewhat salacious details about Cain’s personal behavior, while the candidate kept pointing the finger of blame at Rick Perry’s campaign for leaking the original story.
You didn’t really have to be an internet expert to find some of the stuff going around about Cain while he was head of the National Restaurant Association – it’s out there.
Whether the details are true or just internet hearsay is another story that will be argued in newsrooms around the country.
I will err on the side of caution and let you go to Google - you can be the judge.
As for Cain, he stayed out of the sight in Washington, D.C. on Thursday after a Wednesday that saw him almost lose his cool at one point when pressed by a group of reporters at an event in Virginia.
Away from the cameras, Cain went to his familiar game plan, doing an interview talk radio show host Sean Hannity.
“I’m doing fantastic,” Cain said with his trademark optimism as Hannity welcomed him to the show.
While Cain’s top aide had gone on Fox News earlier in the day and walked back his accusation that a former Cain aide – from his 2004 U.S. Senate bid – was to blame for the leak of sex harassment stories, Cain made clear he still believes Curt Anderson is the one to blame.
“Connect the dots. All I’m saying is that these are the facts, Sean,” said an emphatic Cain.
If Cain is going to continue to point the finger of blame at the Perry campaign, it could make for a very interesting dynamic next week when the GOP candidates debate in Michigan on Wednesday night and then again in South Carolina a week from Saturday.
If you can ignore the controversy over Cain’s past behavior for a moment, this has been yet another unconventional week for the leading GOP candidate, as he’s been in Washington the entire week.
Meanwhile, the other Republican hopefuls have all been pressing the flesh, mainly in Iowa.
Cain has been in Iowa only one day since mid-August. By the time he makes it back to the Hawkeye State for a scheduled debate on November 19 in Des Moines, it will be three months with just one visit.
But some in D.C. aren’t even sure Cain will make it that far, wondering if his campaign is about to implode under the weight of this week’s revelations.
Cain will wrap up his week in Washington with a Friday speech to a conservative group.
“We’re back on message,” Cain said confidently yesterday.
“We’re not going to get distracted,” said Cain.
If only that had been the case for Cain this week.
