Devil's Advocacy

Herman Cain says, once again, that he didn't do it (but that he's "reassessing" his presidential candidacy [hat tip -- Christy Waters]).

And hey, who knows? Maybe this really is an orchestrated smear campaign against a guy who doesn't deserve it.

But, I'd like to take one component of that argument and aim it in the other direction. I'll grab said component from The Other McCain, because linking to him always pays for itself in added traffic, and because he's a fair example of how that component normally plays.

McCain quotes ABC News on the latest accuser, Ginger White:

Ginger White ... has liens and civil judgments in Kentucky and Georgia dating back to 1994.

Eleven of those liens have been filed since 2009, with nine in 2011. The owners of her apartment complex in Dunwoody, Georgia have sued her for non-payment of rent nearly every month since the beginning of the year.

And that seems to be typical of Cain's accusers -- a history of financial problems, marital problems and even prior or subsequent sexual harassment claims.

It looks pretty bad, doesn't it? It's easy to conclude that Cain's accusers are just habitual gold-diggers.

BUT.

Just as predators in the wild kingdom look for the limping gazelle, human sexual predators look for the vulnerable woman.

The high school girl who gets sexually abused by a teacher isn't usually the head cheerleader or the student body president. She's the insecure girl without a lot of friends. Maybe she's a little overweight and doesn't feel attractive. Maybe she's only got one parent at home and is left to her own devices most evenings. Maybe she just had a bad breakup with her first boyfriend. Whatever it is, there's some niche in her armor that the adult can exploit.

Is it really any different in adulthood? The adult (non-murderous -- those look for different kinds of vulnerability) sexual predator doesn't go after the financially secure woman in a happy marriage. He goes after the woman with financial problems and an unsatisfactory love life, precisely because she seems like the easiest target to reach and manipulate. She's looking for a job; he can hire her. She's behind on the rent; he can help out. She's got no one occupying her bed; he wants to.

If Herman Cain is a sexual harasser and philanderer, I'd expect the women he's been involved with to look ... well ... exactly like his accusers.

But of course, if he is not a sexual abuser or philanderer, I'd expect the women accusing him to look like that too. Sexual predators aren't the only kind out there. Political predators hunt the same kind of game.

Cain may be a predator. Or he may be prey. Either way, he's done.






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Photo of Herman Cain by Gage Skidmore