It’s kind of fitting that Sharon Bialek delivered her risqué account of her sexual encounter with Herman Cain at New York’s Friars Club. After all, the Club touts itself as a "ribald comedy" destination, and ribaldry is exactly what we got, writes Dana Milbank of the Washington Post. Bialek’s tale "instantly succeeded in giving a pubic-hair-on-Coke-can seediness to the 2012 campaign. And nobody came out looking particularly good."
To be fair, Bialek herself seemed genuine—more so, at least, than her scandal-chaser lawyer, Gloria Allred, who dropped such groaners as, "Mr. Cain decided to provide her with his idea of a stimulus package." And Bialek’s story could indeed damage the candidate. "Now Cain is the one who wants a job," Milbank quips. He has already faced questions about his skills and organization, "but for now, unfortunately, the issue at hand is where Herman Cain’s hands have been."