Cain canned for his politics, not misdeeds

Herman Cain’s departure from the presidential primary no doubt brings a sense of “mission accomplished” to a liberal establishment that saw a successful, conservative black man as a repudiation of its agenda.

Did Cain have dalliances in his past, indiscretions, departures from conventional mores? Perhaps. And if so, were they indefensible? Perhaps.

But they certainly shouldn’t have been shocking, not in the world we’re living in now, where the prevailing attitude seems to be “anything goes,” unless, of course, your political beliefs have their roots on the wrong side of the street.

It wasn’t Cain’s acts that got his critics in such a frenzy; no, it was the actor himself who had them in such a lather because he was what they most loathe, proof they are wrong in insisting governmental handouts are the key to success in America.

That’s why his accusers were granted instant credibility by left-leaning media who wanted so much to believe every salacious detail, reminiscent of the way Anita Hill was treated when she accused Clarence Thomas, then a Supreme Court nominee, of similarly scandalous behavior.

Like Cain, Thomas was a thorn in the side of those who say you can’t make it by yourself if you’re black in America, because if you could, that would mean they are wrong, which of course they find unimaginable.

When credible women made sexually explosive charges against Bill Cinton, his chief defender, James Carville, told the press, “Drag $100 bills through a trailer park and there’s no telling what you’ll find.”

It’s called killing the messenger. It’s what Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim recently tried to do to put a lid on a lurid scandal in his program, until horrified handlers advised to him to issue a quick apology.

No, it’s not about the act; it’s about the actor.

When Larry Craig, a Republican U.S. senator from Idaho, was arrested for lewd conduct in an airport men’s room, his career imploded; he became a punching bag for many of the same pundits who were so forgiving when Barney Frank’s former lover ran a brothel in their basement, or when the late congressman Gerry Studds was censured for seducing a teenaged congressional page.

It’s the actor, not the act, that decides who gets forgiven.

And that’s the only reason the curtain came down on Herman Cain’s campaign. He’s attractive, articulate and clearly comfortable in his own skin, but his script offended those who had the power to chase him off the stage.

Feel bad for him if you’d like, but make no mistake, we’re all the losers when that happens.

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