Fourth Accuser describes Cain assault.

I was inclined to believe that Herman Cain has a serious issue when it was revealed that two former employees had received settlements well and truly prior to his actually becoming a political threat. This story, however, is especially troubling, because what is being described here is not simply harassment, but a form of assault as she was nonconsentually touched. That one of the previous accusers indicates that Sharon Bialek's account sounds very similar to her own also suggests that there is a pattern of abusive behavior. I don't find this attitude towards women incompatible with his overall "inequality for all" approach to employer/employee relations.  Although some may concentrate on the sexual nature of the claims against Herman Cain, my tendency is to view them as a particularly gross form of power-abuse. By either indicating that sex was a medium of exchange by which favors might be granted, or by reminding women that they were not merely under him in the supervisory sense, but "beneath him", he was establishing dominance.

This same attitude is on display when he tells off a reporter following up on this very real scandal that he will have the code of journalistic ethics sent to him. It's high-handed and insulting.  He does not care for being questioned, but he doesn't mind throwing his own opinions around.

I don't mind throwing mine around, either.  This kind of accusation is not made lightly, and I have a tendency to side with these accusers. I have no reason to disbelieve Sharon Bialek and I think she had to expect a lot of disapprobation from fellow conservatives, which was going to be painful, but that she still made her case gets her a lot of credit from me. I also understand why she reached out to Gloria Allred--I once called Ms. Allred a "Wahmbulance Chaser"--but she's the smartest, toughest woman to have on your side regarding just this sort of issue.  I don't think this woman will be easy to discredit or bully, and Ms. Allred is impervious to that nonsense. I would have to say Cain is done, now. As he should have been once it was recognized he had no idea what he was talking about, but even more so now that it is clear that his cluelessness is allied with arrogance and abusiveness.

I understand that the reflexive misogyny of fuckwits like Rush Limbaugh will have their day or so of demeaning this accuser. But my hope is that  the regard of women has moved past Anita Hill's day--maybe this time, we'll see a little more respect for a woman's voice. I really hope this is taken seriously, not just because of my partisan bias, but because attention needs to be paid to inequality, all the time, everywhere--including where women are treated like objects because of their gender. It just isn't right.