There’s something about Herman Cain I just can’t buy —
If there was no sexual harassment, why didn’t he deny?
Why would the women say it
And why would the association pay it
If it weren’t true that he’s just another creepy guy?

From a CNN story titled, “Cain Denies Harassment Charges:”
“Since Washington establishment critics haven’t had much luck in attacking Mr. Cain’s ideas to fix a bad economy and create jobs, they are trying to attack him in any way they can,” J.D. Gordon, Cain’s campaign vice president, said Sunday.
Yeah, because that 9-9-9 thing is bulletproof.
What truly [...]

A straddle is not a political philosophy; it is what you do when you do not have one … Romney, supposedly the Republican most electable next November, is a recidivist reviser of his principles who is not only becoming less electable; he might damage GOP chances of capturing the Senate. Republican successes down the ticket will depend on the energies of the Tea Party and other conservatives, who will be deflated by a nominee whose blurry profile in caution communicates only calculated trimming … Republicans may have found their Michael Dukakis, a technocratic Massachusetts governor who takes his bearings from ‘data’ … Has conservatism come so far, surmounting so many obstacles, to settle, at a moment of economic crisis, for THIS?

— George Will, writing like the cranky old fart he has become, in the Washington Post.

Our team wants someone authentic, creative, fresh, bold and likeable. And we don’t have much tolerance for too many facts or too much information. In politics, a bumper sticker always beats an essay.

— Republican strategist Ed Rogers, writing in the Washington Post, on the psychology of GOP activists.

Rick Perry is going to go down in history for the all-time train wreck beginning. Because private polling in Iowa 40 days ago had him leading.

— GOP strategist Mike Murphy, on Meet the Press, commenting on the latest Iowa Poll that has Perry in sixth place.

Don’t compare us to the almighty, compare us to the alternative, and when people see that alternative, I think that they will stay with the president.

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), repeating a line from Vice Pres. Joe Biden at the Florida Democratic Party convention over the weekend.

62%

Of very religious white Americans identify with or lean toward the Republican Party, and 27% identify as Democrats. Partisanship among Hispanics and Asians — but not among blacks — also varies by religiosity.

The Los Angeles Times reported this story (on page AA2) with the headline, “Cain Denies Harassment Accusations,” but that is not accurate. According to right-leaning Politico.com, the outlet that broke the story, Cain has passed up multiple opportunities to deny the charges:

Gawker’s headline asked, “Just How Drunk Is Rick Perry in This Video?” The story was