This whole Herman Cain “scandal” is starting to look ridiculous. The more we learn, the more it looks like a ginned up hit piece against a GOP front runner. It’s not without its points of fact – but those few points, at least for now, seem relatively small.

Let’s look at what we know as facts:

Fact 1) Two women, 10 years ago, made allegations of sexual harassment against Herman Cain when he was the Chairman of the Board for the Restaurant Association.

Fact 2) The Restaurant Association made the decision that it was less expensive to settle out of court that to take the case to court.

Fact 3) One of those women was paid $35,000, equal to a year’s salary, let go and she signed an agreement to not talk about it.

Fact 4) We don’t know, at this point, what the settlement was regarding the other woman.

Fact 5) Herman Cain was not fired by the Restaurant Association.

For now, regarding what took place some 10 years ago with Herman Cain and these allegations, that is what we know as facts.

Here are the troubling things regarding the surfacing of this story in regard to Herman Cain:

1)      Cain at first said he was unaware of any settlement.

2)      Cain, later the same day, walked that statement back saying he did know of the settlement but was unaware of the amount.

3)      After making conflicting statements, Cain said he and his campaign were aware for 10 days that this story was going to break and admitted to being unprepared.

Okay, now let’s examine those facts.

As to the allegations, we have, at this time, no idea what the two women claim Cain did. Sexual harassment charges could be almost anything from a comment to something much more serious. Some women have claimed that a comment such as “You look nice today” is sexual harassment. Is that what happened here? We have no idea. On the more serious side would be asking for sex, inviting someone to a hotel room or making suggestive comments. On the most serious end of the scale would be inappropriate touching or assault. What happened, regarding these allegations (remains for now) unknown.

The Restaurant Association’s decision to settle rather than take it to court combined with the fact that Cain was not fired leads one to believe there was no concrete evidence of wrongdoing by Cain. Had either woman possessed hard evidence of a serious violation, it’s reasonable to believe they would have gone to court with it and eventually received not a settlement but a judgment award for a far greater amount. Not releasing Herman Cain also points to something which the Restaurant Association felt was of little if any consequence.

Finally, while we don’t know, at least for now, for what one of the women settled, we do know the other, according to a New York Post report, received $35,000 and signed a nondisclosure agreement which would bar her from speaking about the incident or the settlement. It has also been stated that fighting the accusations in court would have cost the Association something in the neighborhood of $50,000.

This settlement is really the only problematic fact on the table and here is why that is:

By signing a nondisclosure agreement, at least in most cases, the plaintiff agrees to never speak of the incident or the settlement lest that plaintiff must repay the full settlement figure. Given that it has been some 10 years, it’s a fair bet that money has been long spent – but here is the problematic part – if someone agrees to pay that woman another $35,000 or more, let’s say double that figure, she could repay the settlement and sing like a bird and still come out $35,000 ahead.

This would also be problematic for Cain if the woman is credible, meaning that she is considered an upstanding citizen and either previously or since she made these allegations against Cain leveled such allegations against others. If she pays back the settlement money on her own without seeking a payday for her speaking out, that would also be problematic for Cain. Should she actually have any hard evidence regarding her allegations, that too would be a problem for Cain.

Here is what is working against this woman.

Cain has run for elective office before and she has never made her story public. Cain has been in the race for the GOP nomination for 5 months but not until he became the front runner did this story come to light. This woman also now states she wants the nondisclosure agreement dropped so she can speak out. It seems to me, if she didn’t need a payday, she could have easily paid back the settlement and moved forward on her own but to be fair, the exact details of that agreement are, for now, unknown.

For his part, Herman Cain needs to be much better prepared; and while he is not a typical politician with adept political handlers, in a race to win the GOP nomination with the hopes of becoming the President, Herman Cain must stop releasing conflicting statements whether it is in regard to this story or policy matters.

Cain’s avid supporters will stick with him unless the women who made these claims of sexual harassment are deemed credible and or have concrete evidence to back their allegations. There remains about 80% of GOP voters who, according to recent polls, have yet to make up their minds and continue to vet the candidates who may be swayed by such allegations whether credible or not and there are the independent voters to consider.

If Herman Cain can find consistency across the table and these allegations and/or the women making them prove less then credible, that 80% of GOP voters and the independents are still in play for Cain. If there seems to be any credibility to the women or their claims, and if Cain can’t find consistency in his statements, seeds of doubt could be planted in both the 80% and the independents.

For now, this “scandal” isn’t harming Herman Cain as he continue to lead the polls and donations continue to roll in but even a non conventional candidate needs to be ready to handle slings and arrows in a straightforward and consistent manner with some sense of polish if he means to win – and some could well argue it’s more important to do so when you’re not considered to be a politician.

While this looks, for all the world, to be a bit of dirt dug up by a fellow GOP candidate, I’ll guess Perry as he’s slipping fast, and may be a lot of nothing, it will pale in comparison to the attacks which will come from the liberal machine should Cain actually garner the nomination; and if Cain, with 10 days advanced warning on this wasn’t prepared, some changes must be made and be made quickly.

Cain needs to get ALL the information regarding this story out there front and center as fast as he can, deal with it consistently and if there’s nothing to it, it will fade away as fast as if came up but allowing this to linger for more than a week, would not bode well.