# Cain has a Clarence Thomas problem **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 31, 2011, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cain-has-a-clarence-thomas-problem/601387 "2011-10-31T15:27:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cain-has-a-clarence-thomas-problem/601387/181 "2011-11-15T03:28:16Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Gingrich is next up in the parade of clowns, but seriously? He’s going to do exactly the same stuff as Cain, only not quite as hilariously, I think. Gingrich is smarter than Cain. But, somehow he does not actually seem to **exist** any more, not even when he’s talking. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cain-has-a-clarence-thomas-problem/601387/182 "2011-11-15T07:12:50Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > CNN just released the results of their [latest poll of the GOP candidates](http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/14/cnn-poll-gingrich-soars-cain-drops/?hpt=hp_t1). Cain’s support has dropped from 25% in the October poll, to 14% in this poll. Comparing the October results to the November results: > > Candidate / October / November > Romney 26% / 24% > Cain 25% / 14% > Gingrich 8% / 22% > Perry 14% / 13% > Paul 9% / 8% > Bachmann 6% / 6% > Huntsman 1% / 3% > Santorum 2% / 3% > [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Watch out for Huntsman. He made the best percentage improvement (66%) of all the candidates. 😛 Looks more like 200% to me. (ETA) Also impressive. (ETA Again) And Gingrich’s 175% is impressive too, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cain-has-a-clarence-thomas-problem/601387/183 "2011-11-15T16:35:33Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Looks more like 200% to me. (ETA) Also impressive. (ETA Again) And Gingrich’s 175% is impressive too, of course. Wow. What was I thinking, or not thinking? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cain-has-a-clarence-thomas-problem/601387/184 "2011-11-29T01:58:47Z")
Looks like Cain might have a [Bill Clinton problem too](http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/28/politics/cain-accusation-affair/index.html). Allegedly! Allegedly! Don’t go freaking out. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cain-has-a-clarence-thomas-problem/601387/185 "2011-11-29T02:14:13Z")
No way to know if this is true either, but it’s not hard to picture Cain’s next reply: “Why isn’t the liberal media talking about all the women I _didn’t_ harass or sleep with?” ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cain-has-a-clarence-thomas-problem/601387/186 "2011-11-29T02:30:52Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > No way to know if this is true either, but it’s not hard to picture Cain’s next reply: “Why isn’t the liberal media talking about all the women I _didn’t_ harass or sleep with?” [He’s already gone there.](http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/11/herman-cain-for-every-person-who-says-i-harassed-them-there-are-thousands-who-say-i-didnt.php?ref=fpblg) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cain-has-a-clarence-thomas-problem/601387/187 "2011-11-29T02:40:26Z")
> [@Raygun99](#): > > [He’s already gone there.](http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/11/herman-cain-for-every-person-who-says-i-harassed-them-there-are-thousands-who-say-i-didnt.php?ref=fpblg) I can’t believe he’s not going to win. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cain-has-a-clarence-thomas-problem/601387/188 "2011-11-29T02:47:17Z")
I’m thinking maybe a Secretary of Education spot on President Perry’s cabinet. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cain-has-a-clarence-thomas-problem/601387/189 "2011-11-29T03:19:11Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Allegedly! Allegedly! Don’t go freaking out. Even without the allegedly, I’m not freaking. He’s not being accused of a crime. He’s accused of adultery. And by the preponderance of the evidence, Mr. Cain has engaged in it. The evidence of the mistress’s cell phone history, shown to a reporter who then heard Cain answering when she called him, seems to me enough to say, yes, she’s telling the truth and he’s lying. Although a bit moralistic about adultery, lying doesn’t bother me. I think that being a liar can be helpful for a president. As for adultery, if you are going to reject presidential candidates for being bad husbands, Newt’s record of leaving two wives to marry mistresses has got Cain beat. So if I didn’t already plan to vote for the incumbent, Cain’s highly likely history of adultery and lying (and you can’t really be an adulterer without lying) would be no barrier to my voting for him. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cain-has-a-clarence-thomas-problem/601387/190 "2011-11-29T03:22:16Z")
That’s a heart warming story, but face it - he’s fucked. ---
**Author:** ![computergeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@computergeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/computergeek)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cain-has-a-clarence-thomas-problem/601387/191 "2011-11-29T04:07:24Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Even without the allegedly, I’m not freaking. > > He’s not being accused of a crime. He’s accused of adultery. And by the preponderance of the evidence, Mr. Cain has engaged in it. The evidence of the mistress’s cell phone history, shown to a reporter who then heard Cain answering when she called him, seems to me enough to say, yes, she’s telling the truth and he’s lying. > > Although a bit moralistic about adultery, lying doesn’t bother me. I think that being a liar can be helpful for a president. As for adultery, if you are going to reject presidential candidates for being bad husbands, Newt’s record of leaving two wives to marry mistresses has got Cain beat. So if I didn’t already plan to vote for the incumbent, Cain’s highly likely history of adultery and lying (and you can’t really be an adulterer without lying) would be no barrier to my voting for him. I would have trouble with a candidate who’s been caught cheating. But with Cain, the bigger problem is that he and his campaign haven’t handled the various harassment allegations and now the adultery allegation at all well. That goes to Cain’s ability to properly govern, which in my view he isn’t qualified in the least to do and the way he’s been responding to these allegations is proof. Plus, he’s responding to these allegations by haranguing the media and the women and I’m sick and tired of it and want him to get major blowback for it. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cain-has-a-clarence-thomas-problem/601387/192 "2011-11-29T04:41:16Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > I’m thinking maybe a Secretary of Education spot on President Perry’s cabinet. As of those little bobble-head dolls, you mean? > [@computergeek](#): > > he’s responding to these allegations by haranguing the media and the women and I’m sick and tired of it and **want him to get major blowback for it**. That’s how he got into this mess in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cain-has-a-clarence-thomas-problem/601387/193 "2011-11-29T05:18:40Z")
> [@computergeek](#): > > I would have trouble with a candidate who’s been caught cheating. But with Cain, the bigger problem is that he and his campaign haven’t handled the various harassment allegations and now the adultery allegation at all well. That goes to Cain’s ability to properly govern, which in my view he isn’t qualified in the least to do and the way he’s been responding to these allegations is proof. Plus, he’s responding to these allegations by haranguing the media and the women and I’m sick and tired of it and want him to get major blowback for it. He’s done. He knows it, as does everyone else. Just let him go slink back into the shadows with Bachmann, Santorum and the other losers. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cain-has-a-clarence-thomas-problem/601387/194 "2011-11-29T17:09:31Z")
Cain says he is considering dropping out of the race, if that matters. His campaign was sunk before. To some extent it’s unfortunate that a big portion of his undoing was his personal conduct rather than the idiocy of his ideas, the bragging about his ignorance, and the poor planning that went into both the campaign and the policies. But the end result is the same. ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cain-has-a-clarence-thomas-problem/601387/195 "2011-11-29T17:33:27Z")
Black politician accused of having an affair with a white (appears) woman named…Ginger White? It’s like Boehner getting caught with a woman named Ebony Black. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cain-has-a-clarence-thomas-problem/601387/196 "2011-11-29T19:56:17Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Although a bit moralistic about adultery, lying doesn’t bother me. I think that being a liar can be helpful for a president. The electorate has shown that it’s willing to accept a liar, but maybe not the “pants on fire” variety, at least not yet. Cain’s problem isn’t so much that he’s a liar, but that he’s embarrassingly _bad_ at it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cain-has-a-clarence-thomas-problem/601387/197 "2011-11-29T21:47:29Z")
I like the hypothesis someone raised in the Pit thread, that the real reason he’s running is so he can brag about all the tail he’s getting. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cain-has-a-clarence-thomas-problem/601387/198 "2011-11-29T21:58:54Z")
Why can’t ANY of these incredibly wealthy, powerful, prominent, horny old assholes have just ONE (1) truly solid 10 (even a slutty 9 would be a huge improvement) as a mistress/whore/victim/girlfriend even just once?!? It’s pretty mollyfocking awful, and even somewhat of a National Embarrassment when the clearly insane-looking Rielle Hunter is the Belle of the Ball, political mistress-wise… (although in fairness, the high-priced hooker good ol’ Spitzer liked to spunk in bareback was quite hott, in a high-priced hooker kind of way) ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cain-has-a-clarence-thomas-problem/601387/199 "2011-11-29T22:23:10Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Why can’t ANY of these incredibly wealthy, powerful, prominent, horny old assholes have just ONE (1) truly solid 10 (even a slutty 9 would be a huge improvement) as a mistress/whore/victim/girlfriend even just once?!? > > It’s pretty mollyfocking awful, and even somewhat of a National Embarrassment when the clearly insane-looking Rielle Hunter is the Belle of the Ball, political mistress-wise… > > (although in fairness, the high-priced hooker good ol’ Spitzer liked to spunk in bareback was quite hott, in a high-priced hooker kind of way) Going back a ways, Gary Hart’s girlfriend was quite attractive. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cain-has-a-clarence-thomas-problem/601387/200 "2011-11-29T23:21:33Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > Going back a ways, Gary Hart’s girlfriend was quite attractive. She also became a conservative Christian activist. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cain-has-a-clarence-thomas-problem/601387.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cain-has-a-clarence-thomas-problem/601387.md?page=11)