Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has an interesting take on Herman Cain’s growing scandal: honestly, he says, these days it seems like women can’t take a joke.
“There are people now who hesitate to tell a joke to a woman in the workplace, any kind of joke, because it could be interpreted incorrectly,” he told the National Review. “I don’t. I’m very cautious.”
Paul, whose own campaign was marked by allegations he mistreated a woman years ago, says the media shouldn’t be reporting stories like the one that’s put Cain in all the hot water he’s in this week.
‘In my election, I had an anonymous girl from college — who I still don’t know — make accusations against me,” he told NR. “I don’t think you should print stuff like that. To libel someone’s character and not put your name on it, I think is inappropriate and shouldn’t be printed.”
It’s important to point out here that multiple reporters knew the name of the woman in Paul’s past as well as the two women involved in the original Politico report that started the Cain ball rolling. The names are usually withheld in cases like this to protect sources, which is a time-honored practice in politics it would be surprising if Paul has never engaged in. Cain’s campaign certainly has.
Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.
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