See Ya, Herman: It 'Was Fun While It Lasted'

Herman Cain seems to have gotten lost in a "verbal corn maze" trying to talk his way out of these sex-harassment allegations, writes Maureen Dowd in the New York Times. (What's the real-world distinction between an "agreement" and a "settlement" again?) Sorry, Cain believers, he's done. But don't feel too bad: While this "dalliance with the grandfather, gospel singer, motivational speaker, and self-made millionaire was fun while it lasted," Cain had zero chance of becoming president anyway, she writes.

As for this being a story about racial stereotyping, as some of his defenders have charged, no chance. "This isn’t an incendiary story about race," writes Dowd. "It is the most hackneyed story in Washington—another powerful man who crossed the line and then, when caught, tried to blame the women." Full column here. Or click to read about one of his accuser's settlement of $35,000. (More Herman Cain 2012 stories.)