Sharon Bialek Accuses Herman Cain of Sexual Misconduct (VIDEO)

The New York Times has the background, "Woman Accuses Cain of Lewd Behavior; He Denies It." And more at Memeorandum.

And a detailed report at National Journal, "This Time, Cain's Accuser Has a Name and a Face."

Nothing about the Herman Cain campaign has unfolded as expected, so it’s anybody’s guess what will happen next.

But by presenting a name, a face, and details — unlike the three other women who have accused him of sexual harassment — Sharon Bialek will make it a lot harder for voters to ignore the allegations. Her nationally televised press conference on Monday ensures that this is not, as Cain declared recently, “end of story.’’ Not even close.
For more than a week, allegations that Cain came on to female employees when he headed the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s were unspecific and anonymous. First there were two women, and then there were three. Cain said that all he could recall was a conversation with one of them in which he noted her height was the same as his wife’s. It was all very vague.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, may have summed up voters’ attitudes best when she said on Sunday, “I just don't see anonymous sources as fair against a candidate. I think if someone has a real concern, they should come out and say it.… Until something comes out that’s concrete, I think it is politics as usual.’’

Not anymore. Her name is Sharon Bialek. She is attractive, with long blonde bangs. She is, as her credibility-hungry attorney proclaimed right away, a registered Republican who graduated from college, has held down a number of jobs, and once dated a doctor. She could have sold her story for money, attorney Gloria Allred added, but she didn’t.

Bialek gave a detailed account of meeting Cain at an association convention years ago and then reaching out to him for advice one month later after losing her job. She said he upgraded her hotel room in Washington, took her out to dinner, and offered to show her his offices. Then it got ugly. She said he reached for her crotch and pushed her head toward his own. Bialek noted they went to an Italian restaurant and that she was wearing a black plaid skirt. She knows details matter to those sitting in judgment.

Bialek also presented herself as someone people can relate to. The single mother of a 13-year-old son needed a job. Sounds like more than a few voters out there. She was careful not to sound spiteful, praising Cain’s “infectious presence’’ and maintaining that she had hoped she was the only woman he had harassed.

When that appeared not to be the case, Bialek said, she decided to tell her story to the public.

“I’m coming forward to give a face and a voice to those women who cannot or for whatever reason do not wish to come forward,’’ she said.

More at the link.

And some of the reactions:

* At Althouse, "I want to assert, firmly, that I have never been inconsistent on the subject of these allegations about Herman Cain."

* At AoSHQ, "Cain's Statement: I'm Going to Beat Up On the Media and Make Them the Story, But I'm Not Going to Address Particulars."

* At Astute Bloggers, "CAIN SHOULD WITHDRAW FROM THE RACE."

* At The Conservatory, "Cain, Politics, Personal Behavior and “The Truth”."

* At Hot Air, "Dem strategist: Can conservatives handle the fact that Cain’s accuser is white?"

* At Legal Insurrection, "Cain “4th Accuser” press conference // Update – alleges sexual advance after termination of employment," and "No cause for champagne at Politico."

* At Riehl World View, "My Gut Reaction to the Herman Cain Affair."

* The Other McCain, "GLORIA ALLRED PRESS CONFERENCE WITH NEW HERMAN CAIN ACCUSER UPDATE: VIDEO, HEADLINES ADDED UPDATE II: CAIN CAMPAIGN: ‘ALL ALLEGATIONS … COMPLETELY FALSE’."

* At Verum Serum, "Sharon Bialek’s Story Sounds Credible."

* At Weasel Zippers, "Report: New Woman Accuses Cain of Sexual Harassment, Being Represented By Spawn of Satan Attorney Gloria Allred…"