The Politico Herman Cain story about a settlement regarding an accusation during his time at the National Restaurant Association has already won the morning, as Politico likes to say.
But, as Byron York discussed on Bill Bennett’s radio show this morning, accusation-wise, “Nothing extremely clear. . . . It’s all really quite vague.” Detail-wise, it doesn’t help that the “Cain campaign did not do a great job” in the immediate follow-up to the story last night, in a statement and to Geraldo Rivera on Fox News. The campaign was not denying anything and “kept blaming the Beltway establishment,” as Byron puts it. “Everything is going to depend on the facts of the case.”
The news of a five-figure settlement is eye-brow raising, the former education secretary commented. He also noted that, typically, “If it’s not true, you shout it from the rooftops.” But he added, cautiously, “We need to get the facts.” Earlier in the show, he said: “There could be less than meets the eye. Or there could be trouble.”
Byron added: “The fact of a paid settlement is not dispositive truth that something actually happened. It’s proof there was an accusation.”
Obviously, there will be more on this today. Herman Cain has a Washington-heavy schedule today, for better or worse for his campaign.