Herman Cain displays one form of character as another form of it is challenged

By Glen Johnson, Globe Staff

While presidential campaigns are about party and policy, they largely devolve into a measure of a candidate’s character.

That is character from a moral perspective, as well as character in terms of heart and backbone.

With his news conference today, Republican Herman Cain showed he has stature on the latter front. But with building and more detailed allegations from women claiming he sexually harassed them, it is unclear whether he will ultimately measure up from the former perspective.

After his critics lawyered-up with attorneys who have spent a lot of time on TV since the allegations were made public nine days ago, the candidate struck back this afternoon with his own: Lin Wood, the courtly Southerner who perhaps most famously represented security guard Richard Jewell after he was falsely accused of planting a deadly bomb at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

Wood made clear in introducing Cain that he was prepared to mount the same aggressive defense for a high-profile political candidate as he had for a client with less stature.

Wood also criticized his brothers - and sisters - on the bar for “parading” their clients in public, in particular when the charges were of a sexual nature.

Then, with notes before him to which he barely referred, Cain stepped in front of a backdrop of American flags to defend his honor himself.

“I have never acted inappropriately with anyone. Period,” he declared.

For the next 25 minutes or so, Cain repeated variations of that unequivocal statement while also curiously referring to himself in the third person.

He also flatly proclaimed that he had no memory - be it face, name, or the incident she described - of his latest accuser, Sharon Bialek. She went public on Monday during a news conference orchestrated by high-profile attorney Gloria Allred.

In addition, Cain said that to anyone who thinks the charges may drive him from the campaign, “Ain’t gonna happen.”

But Cain also made statements that could fuel his critics.

He seemed to reveal at one point that some of his own subordinates had committed or been accused of sexual harassment, saying he had always dealt with such allegations swiftly and with clarity that it was wrong.

That prompted him to segue into a reminder that while men can sexually harass women, women can also sexually harass men.

Likewise, Cain said that he had asked his wife, Gloria, what she thought of Bialek’s accusations after she watched the woman’s news conference.

“That doesn’t even sound like anything that you would ever do,” he quoted her as replying.

While a wife can surely vouch for her husband’s character, not many of them would have a first-hand perspective on his private conversations with other women.

Then, after relating this personal comment, Cain pleaded with the media to respect his family’s privacy. He complained that some reporters had been calling up his relatives, asking them about the allegations.

That, however, sounds like criticism for the very scrutiny of the charges he is now demanding from the media.

Cain and his defenders also have vacillated in assessing blame for the revelations.

Some staffers have suggested it has been stirred by Republican rivals Rick Perry or Mitt Romney. Others have suggested it is the Democrats, noting, for example, that Allred has given to Democratic candidates.

Cain himself said today: “I happen to think where it’s coming from is that some people don’t want to see Herman Cain get the Republican nomination, and some people don’t want Herman Cain to be president of the United States.”

The Georgian said such allegations stem from “the machine to keep a businessman out of the White House.”

The Democrats already in the White House, however, have indicated that Romney is the potential nominee they most fear. They do it with incessant, personal, and direct criticism of him. Those actions indicate that Perry, Cain, or any other nominee would be an easier opponent next year.

With that in mind, why would the Democrats stand in the way of Cain winning the nomination?

Despite those deviations, Cain stood tall - literally and figuratively - through the news conference.

He has been, in a sense, playing with house money in this campaign, not expected to win but gaining notoriety for a book tour he is conducting at the same time he is seeking the presidency. He has no office from which to be driven, no job to lose.

That has given a looseness to all his public appearances, be they speeches, meet-and-greets, or debates.

Cain also revealed he has a strategy for enduring this crisis that does not necessarily include the vexing challenge of convincing everyone he is innocent.

“Well, first of all, you don’t need 100 percent of the voters (to win); you need 51 percent. It is natural that some voters would be turned off by the mere mention of the accusations. That is normal and expected,” he said. “But the good news for me and my campaign is that most of my supporters have not reacted to this in terms of belief. Many of them have expressed their outpouring of support for the fact that these incidents simply did not happen.”