Does This Change the Way You 'See' a Candidate?

No. It does not. It is more of a smear campaign. If the allegations were true, they would have been brought up WAY before now....now that Cain is gaining popularity, the smear tactics continue...

What is wrong is the way Martin Bashier on MSNBC was ridiculing Cain - asking if he knew how to spell IRAQ? If Martin has done that to Obama - he would've been fired...but to Cain? The left laughs...

So no. If the allegations had been true, these women would've stepped up months ago when Cain first started getting noticed and made a stink. That they are doing it NOW? Makes me question THEIR character...they want their 15 minutes of fame...

Well, if I ran for President, I can think of a few guys from my past classless enough to come foward and accuse me of sexual harassment, or any number of silly issues. Really.

So no, since anyone can claim such a thing, this does not really effect my opinion of any candidate. Unless there were a zillion OTHER things I didn't like, I guess then it could be the straw that broke the camels back, you know?

:)

I thought he was iffy before. Who thinks that just because they can run a business, without ever holding any formal office that they can be President? Then to have this come up and he's all redirecting the question without answering. Well, I guess he's got that evading part down...

Geez, where are all the good leaders with marriage values and no alarming skeletons in the closet ...

Well I wondered how long it was going to take for this to come up. Like the others said, Bill Clinton was accused of the same thing while he was in office and prior as well.

I don't like it of either but it obviously didn't keep Clinton from getting elected into office and staying in office.

It's funny how when someone in the democratic party is accused of it, it's hush hush or there are excuses made for him but if it's a republican candidate.....how dare he!!! Shame on him!!

Double standard if you ask me.

Some anonymous source says it is true? No that doesn't make me question his character. Makes me question why it is news....

Well, Clinton did worse and he WAS president. (I guess I'm the only O., who thinks he was a pretty crappy president??)

Honestly, the timing is so convenient. Not that I'm a huge Cain fan, because I'm not. I just really take these things with a grain of salt, until there is proof.

Nope...Bill Clinton was accused of the same thing...So was Justice Clarence Thomas...Politics are dirty all the way around. All I want to see now is that we get someone in the white house who can help turn the economy around without suggesting the feds spend more.

Anyone can accuse, and there are lots of people looking for a payday. It doesn't make me see the candidate any differently because all of them are under pretty skeptical scrutiny from me right now. After the "promise" of Obama and where that got us, plus the incredibly blatant cronyism that is going on in Washington, I am skeptical that anyone in politics has any kind of ethics.

Didn't Clinton have this same issue?

There is a distinct difference to me between secretly cheating on your wife with a consenting adult while in office and sexual harassment in the workplace. While I don't give two hoots about what people do in their bedrooms or how they conduct their marriages (unless, of course, they are hypocritically running for office spouting off about "family values"), I certainly do care if a person was harassing people in their place of business. THAT is illegal and shows poor character. Again, if you cheat on your spouse, I think has nothing to do with me or how you conduct yourself at work so, barring any serious moral issues, I would consider voting for that person.

If this story turns out to be true, I hope he gets CRUSHED and never runs again. It certainly doesn't surprise me that someone is accusing him of it.

The harrassment (if true) is a problem for me. That's not a bedroom issue that's a safety and respect O.; IMO. I don't care what anyone does with consenting adults but sexual harrassment is about violating another person.

I was already questioning his character coming from a working class background and now proposing such an elitist 9 9 9 tax idea.

Sexual harrassment accusations would make me scrutinize more, I guess. If I liked the candidate, I'd be curious if scandal was going to bring him down when considering who to back, and if I didn't like them, I'd probably "not like them" even more....

The sex stuff can come bite any of them any time, and to be honest, if it doesn't affect policy, the military, the education system, environmental stuff, jobs, middle class opportunity, taxes, I pretty much don't care how pervy they are.

All I can think is "I did not have sexual relations with that woman".

Sex in the White House has been going on since we have had Presidents. I don't like men that are womanizers, but I do think there are times when men do things they don't realize could be considered bad. Would you think your boss was harassing you if he said I like your dress, it complements your eyes? I often feel that there are times when women push it too far, just so they can get famous or to get money. There are times when I think these women knew exactly what they were doing and maybe trying to ruin the other person.
I question how they plan to run the country. So far the only candidate that they haven’t caught in a million lies or changing their story in Ron Paul.

I would like to hear more before I form an opinion.

Sigh. Well, I thought he was a jerk before, and now this confirms it. JERK. I agree with you - sure, a lot of men are womanizers, but paying women off to shut up and go away? Creepy. Just as creepy no matter which political party. As much as I would like to say that people's personal lives should not be up for consideration when they run for public office, that's not how the world works anymore - just as much by the candidates' own design as by the media's. They put their religion on display (even though we are supposed to have a separation of church and state), they put their wives (husbands, sometimes) and kids out there for the world to see... therefore, when these types of issues come out, I think we as voters can certainly choose to judge them for it.

Yes, but in the case of this candidate it doesn't change anything for me because I would never vote for him anyway. He's just such an odd guy and I wholeheartedly disagree with just about everything he embraces. Additionally, I think he fails to project dignity and leadership qualities.

Where there's smoke, there's usually fire - Gary Hart, Bill Clinton, John Edwards? These guys all made it pretty far politically before their questionable treatment of women caught up with them so no, I don't think the fact that it's taken this long to come up indicates that it's untrue.

I wouldn't let this bother me until I definitely heard more about it. There are smear tactics out there, people lie out there, and it's hard to tell unless you know a lot about the candidate. It also seems to be a wide spread problem out there if you think of all the cases in the last couple of years involving candidates of political offices and past presidential candidates ( John Edwards, etc. ) I don't usually believe it until I know a lot more about it.

Just read the answers below ... let's be clear: Monica Lewinsky was not harassed, she was a willing participant. The Restaurant Assoc. women claim harassment.

My beef with anyone on either side of the aisle: DON'T LIE ABOUT IT.

I don't know.....

It's hard to say. I mean there was Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill. There has been sex scandle hand in hand with politics for so long, it's almost more of a surprise when there isn't O..

I'm not saying it didn't happen. I'm saying I would want to watch and wait after the initial information.

I would have a problem with any man in any job or applying for any job that harassed women. At the very least it's disrespectful and bullyish behavior. At the most it's criminal. Not good. Not good at all.

I think a lot of people want to keep an open mind at this point.
But at the same time, Arnold Schwarzenegger had periodic womanizing rumor problems which were quickly/quietly hushed up and he managed to keep a lid on it till he was out of office.
Course all his media control went out the window when his 13 yr old love child turned up and Maria dumped him.
Whether it's true or not, Herman ends up spending time defending himself.
Of course it's a tactic.
Any politician who appears to be squeaky clean means he's really good at covering his tracks.
It's how the game is played and every last O. of them has something he wants to keep hidden away.

Just makes me scrutinize a little further. Politics is such a hard business. I would never want to fill their shoes. When you get that high in business and politics people are out to get you at every turn. You get accused of so many things. I know how much women gossip and brood over things in a simple little organization like the P.T.A...I can't even imagine the fire you go through in the political arena.

Thanks for bringing this up. I had not heard about it yet.

Good luck and best wishes!

Honestly, I think that the threshhold for sexual harrassment is pretty low, and simple joking that is overheard by another employee could fall into that category. I will withhold my judgement until I hear more details, because it could be something that's not a big deal, but then again, it might be a big thing. The facts will come out, eventually.

ETA: @ Megan C. -- I believe the candidate that you're looking for to fit that description would be Rick Santorum.

Accusations over 20 years ago & absolutely no proof, bears no relevance as to his being a good President. Also here is a quote from Cain: "If the restaurant did a settle I wasn't even aware of it," Cain said. "And I hope it wasn’t for much because nothing happened."

if there is more to this, a lot more, then he wouldn't have my support

But here is whats going on in our White House right now, how does this make you feel about Obama?

“This place would be in court for a hostile workplace,” former White House communications director Anita Dunn is quoted as saying, according to the Washington Post, which obtained a copy. “Because it actually fits all of the classic legal requirements for a genuinely hostile workplace to women.”

But a top female official blamed Obama for leading a boys’ club.
“The president has a real woman problem. The idea of the boys’ club being just Larry and Rahm isn’t fair,” she told Suskind, referring to former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Larry Summers, former chairman of the National Economic Council. Obama “was just as responsible himself.”
Christina Romer, former head of the Council of Economic advisers, described O. meeting for Suskind in which she was “boxed out” by Summers, the Washington Post reported.
“I felt like a piece of meat,” she said."

Cain seems very untrustworthy to me.

So, when I hear things like payoffs for sexual harassment, I just go "Ah, of course, he is the type to pay off and then say 'I didn't do anything.'" It fits the overall feeling I get from the guy.

I think majority are that way and it doesn't usually surprise me, I already had formed my opinion on them. I really hate when they bring their poor wife in and have her stand by his side... That just nails the coffin shut for me!

I think all of the GOP hopefuls they have now are pretty iffy. I hope they can come up with someone decent, but it looks like this sorry lot are all they have.