Herman Cain, Double Standards and the Media

How times have changed! In late September, Republican Presidential Candidate Herman Cain was in the midst of a surge in popularity that propelled him to the top of the 2012 GOP field. Within weeks, he has been pounded by the media and there is now the allegation of a 13 year extra-marital affair. This news has caused him to "re-assess" his campaign.

There is a clear double standard here with these attacks and sadly, it mirrors what occurred when Clarence Thomas was in the midst of hearings to serve on the US Supreme Court. Democrats and the media, flat out, are threatened when a Conservative African-American gains notoriety. Since the 1960s, African-Americans have voted anywhere between 80 and 95 percent Democrat, and Democrats will do what it takes to hold on to that voting bloc, regardless of whether or not the attacks on the Conservative African-American appear to be in racist tones. And in the case of this election, a Cain candidacy opposing Obama, the first African-American president, takes away the false premise of the Democrats that (a) Republicans are racist and (b) Anyone who disagrees with Obama must be a racist. Therefore, they will throw at him anything that brings about the appearance of impropriety to voters who may consider him, regardless of whether or not the allegations are true.

The parade of women have may have raised questions about Cain, but questions have also been raised to the veracity of their stories, as there are no specifics, unlike what was printed in the Starr Report about Bill Clinton. No texts have been released, no specific examples of impropriety have been stated and it seems like a battle of "he said, she said."

It remains unknown as to whether or not Herman Cain will stay in the race, but if these allegations sink his campaign and are proven to be false, Americans must, in more aggressive actions, continue to question what they read in the news and see through the double standards.