So that’s pretty much it.  It looks like they woke him up on the bus, threw some clothes on him, and shoved him in the interview.  He seems to be progressively waking up throughout the conversation, and by the halfway point, he seems to know what he’s doing.  I don’t know about you, but it didn’t seem like that much of a train wreck upon viewing the whole video.

What do you guys think?  Was he just sleepy?  Was some “special” liquid in that bottle of “water”?  Or was it a total flame-out train wreck, after all?

Let us know what you guys think in the comments below.  And as always, resist we much.

I hope that’s true.  We already know that he saw her in September of this year, but that might have been the only time he’s ever seen her, and he may honestly have forgotten about it.

But when you think back to Sharon Bialek’s original press conference, Sharon was very, very specific in her accusations.  Here’s some of the transcript from that press conference.

“I took the train into Washington, D.C. When I went to check into the room I was shocked to be taken to a palatial suite. I said to the bellman that there must be some mistake, but he insisted that there was no mistake. I later found out that Mr. Cain had arranged for the suite, though at the time I thought that maybe my boyfriend had tried to surprise me.

“I met Mr. Cain in the lobby of the bar at the Capitol Hilton at around 6:30 p.m. We had drinks at the hotel, and he asked how I liked my room, which is kind of normal, and I said I was very surprised. I said, I can’t believe it, I’ve got this great suite, it’s gorgeous. Mr. Cain kind of smirked, and then said, ‘I upgraded you.’

“He then took me to an Italian restaurant where we had dinner. During dinner, Mr. Cain looked at me and said, ‘Why are you here?’ I said, ‘Actually, Herman, my boyfriend, whom you met, suggested that I meet with you ‘cause he thought you could help me because I really need a job. I was wondering if there’s anything available at the state association level or perhaps if you could speak to someone at the foundation to try to get my job back, perhaps even in a different department.’ He said, ‘I’ll look into that.’

“While we were driving back to the hotel, he said that he would show me where the National Restaurant Association offices were. He parked the car down the block. I thought that we were going to go into the offices so he that could show me around. At that time I had on a black pleated skirt, a suit jacket and a blouse. He had on a suit with his shirt open. But instead of going into the offices, he suddenly reached over and he put his hand on my leg under my skirt and reached for my genitals. He also grabbed my head and brought it toward his crotch. I was very, very surprised and very shocked.

“I said: ‘What are you doing? You know I have a boyfriend. This isn’t what I came here for.’ Mr. Cain said, ‘You want a job, right?’

“I asked him to stop and he did. I asked him to take me back to my hotel which he did, right away.”

Here are some of the details just from that transcript:
She said that she stayed in the Capitol Hilton
He upgraded her room to a suite.
She met him in the lobby bar for drinks
They went to an Italian restaurant.
She had on a pleated skirt.

When you listen to her tell the tale in her press conference (that the transcript above is from), she really seems to be making specific accusations and “recalling” specific details.  When Herman Cain says that he doesn’t even know who Bialek is, he’s denying a LOT of things.  So, if even ONE of them is true, it casts a lot of his testimony into question.

If any one of the things Ms. Bialek claims is proven to be true, then Herman’s goose can be cooked.  (hotel records, credit card records, etc…)  I feel that Mr. Cain took a very big gamble by saying he had did not even know who Sharon Bialek is.  I think it would have been a safer bet for him to say he’s “not sure” if he’d ever seen her before, but by making such adamant claims, he’s really given himself little recourse in the event (or if) he’s ever proven to not be telling the truth.

Of course… if he IS telling the truth, then his gamble may likely pay off.

What do you guys think?  Did Herman take too big of a risk by saying so adamantly that he did not even know who Sharon Bialek is?  Should he have been more vague and just said that he “didn’t recall ever meeting her”?  Or, should he have “put his chips all in”, as it seems he has?  What would you do, if you were accused of wrong doing by someone on national TV, for that matter?  I’m not sure what I would do, if I was in that situation, myself.

As always, let us know what you think in the comments below.  I know a lot of you are tired of this conversation, but we’re trying to choose a leader of the free world, and part of the process is gauging how candidates do under pressure.  And right now, I’d say Herman Cain is under pressure.

What do you think?

Piers Morgan and Gloria Allred all in one day.  Hear the details below.

This new “campaign ad” from Mitt Romney tells the hard truth folks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXZLUKiGTXI&feature=channel_video_title

What do you think?  Has he convinced you?  Or are you still holding out for Ron Paul to finally have his year?  Let us know in the comments below. (and send your hate mail to Jimmy Kimmel in Hollywood, CA)

This just in from Politico:

Cain’s inflammatory charge came in an interview with Forbes:

In the summer of 2003, Cain recalls briefing Anderson—his general campaign consultant at the time—that sexual harassment claims were brought against him while he was chairman of the National Restaurant Association from 1996 to 1999.

“I told my wife about this in 1999 and I’ve got nothing to hide,” Cain told me Wednesday. “When I sat down with my general campaign consultant Kurt Anderson in a private room in our campaign offices in 2003 we discussed opposition research on me. It was a typical campaign conversation. I told him that there was only one case, one set of charges, one woman while I was at the National Restaurant Association. Those charges were baseless, but I thought he needed to know about them. I don’t recall anyone else being in the room when I told him.” …

Aside from knowing about the alleged sexual harassment accusations, Cain campaign officials point to the timing of Anderson’s hiring by Perry as evidence of his involvement. The campaign announced Anderson’s role on October 24, just a week before Politico broke the story.

Does he regret telling Anderson about it? “I don’t regret it at all,” Cain says. “The guy who was supposed to help with strategy should know everything. I put it on the table right from the get go. I wasn’t trying to hide it.”

UPDATE:
Herman Cain’s campaign manager, Mark Block, went on Fox News to personally accuse the Perry campaign of leaking the sexual harassment charges to Politico.  He says, “The actions of the Perry campaign are despicable.”  Video is below.

UPDATE 2:
Now the Perry camp points their finger at the Romney camp. (I kid you not, people)
This via CBS.com:

Rick Perry’s presidential campaign says it is “absolutely not” responsible for leaking the fact that Herman Cain was accused of sexual misconduct while head of the National Restaurant Association to Politico, which broke the explosive story Sunday night.

“That is false, patently untrue, no one at this campaign was involved in this story,” said Perry communications director Ray Sullivan.

Sullivan then suggested to CBS News and National Journal reporter Rebecca Kaplan that Mitt Romney’s campaign is behind the allegations.

“I wouldn’t put it past them,” he said, stating that blog posts have noted that Cain’s successor at the Restaurant Association “is a big Romney donor.”

“There are much closer connections between the Restaurant Association, Cain and the Romney camp than there are with us,” he said.

Federal Election Commission records show that Steven C. Anderson, who succeeded Cain as the Restaurant Association’s CEO, gave $1,000 to Romney’s campaign on July 14, Kaplan reports. He also gave a total of $1,000 to Cain in two $500 installments during Cain’s 2003-2004 Senate campaign.

In response to Sullivan’s comments, Romney spokesperson Andrea Saul offered two words to CBS News: “Not true.” She declined to elaborate.

I have to admit that Cain makes some compelling points in this video, especially the fact that over a course of 42 years, these (supposedly) “baseless” accusations are the only thing he’s been confronted with.

What do you think?  Is this story finally behind him?  Or does Herman still have some ‘splainin to do?  Let us know in the comments below, or if you’re feeling really ambitious, you can rent out a billboard with your opinion on it.  Prizes will be awarded to the most creative billboard that’s submitted.  The deadline is 3pm tomorrow afternoon. (but we suggest telling us in the comments section; it’s much simpler for all of us)

What about you?  Do you understand it?  Let us know in the comments below.  Most of us at CDN are still confused…