Late Afternoon at the Last Manatee Cafe

++ So we left Herman Cain before he unleashed his assault on Sharon Bialek. The main gripe seems to be that she has been sued for financial reasons. Now let's not get too picky here. If being sued for financial reasons is a black mark, then Cain should look at himself. In 2004 alone, five federal cases were brought against a company Cain ran. Finally, these suits were combined into class action suit, which he lost to the tune of 10.5 million.

++A Murdoch publication outed the former journalist and government spokesperson who had settled a claim with the National Restaurant Association. She didn't ask to be revealed and she hasn't made any statement. Her name is Karen Kraushaar,a life-long Republican who currently works at the Inspector's General Office of the Treasury. She refused to even speak to the on-line paper. But her sister-in-law felt that Mr. Cain's reactions to all these allegations spoke volumes about his character. Amen.

++Speaking of characters, the right-wing radios are going full blast into paranoia over these accusations. Michael Savage, always a classy guy, called Sharon Bialek a B. But it was Rush Limbaughm, who seems to be having a nervous breakdown over women in general. Today he ranted on about feminism and PC behavior and how he was mocked when he opened car doors for women he tried to date in his youth. Really guys, go see a shrink. Keep this stuff at home.

++Ron Paul got into another attack on a woman. Paul accused Elizabeth Warren, my Queen of the Rodeo, of being a "socialist" because of her identification with the Occupy Wall Street movement and her remarks about the wealthy. Not to be outdone, the RNC charged that Elizabeth Warren was a hypocrite because she was indeed wealthy in her own right. So naturally the wealthy should protect their own and not care about anyone else. Attacks on Elizabeth Warren have been mounting over the past month. But voters in Massachusetts have taken a shine to this sponky campaigner. Posts from bloggers in Mass. relate stories of her campaign and how she sticks around to meet everyone and introduce herself. Some, including myself, didn't believe she would be a good retail campaigner but she has been superb so far.

++During the Cain meltdown, some one should have kept quiet--Willard "The Mitt" Romney. Romney was obviously born with a silver foot in his mouth because awkward is not the word for it. Romney attacked federal workers yesterday and said that he would make sure they didn't earn more than "those of us" in the private sector. First, private sector employees earn more than federal workers according to every reliable study. Second, whose "us". Willard's last known net wealth is estimated at $250 million--that is before the Obama stock market boom. Romney all his life has earned more than any federal workers including the President of the United States. But he knows this because the same day he referred to federal workers as servants. I guess they are like his lawn service people.

++The DNC has released an ad attacking Romney for wanting the auto industry to go bankrupt. I always felt this was his mmost vulnerable point in the Midwest--his out in front , nationally televised comments that the only solution for the car industry, which his father played a major roll in, was for the car companies to go bankrupt.

++Jon Huntsman, probably the best Romney hunter since Steve Benen of Washington Monthly, claimed on Sunday television that Romney couldn't beat President Obama because his constant flip-flopping on issues raised the larger issue of trust. Romney can not be trusted because he doesn't believe anything.

++Romney has pulled even with undecided among Republicans. Steve Benen did a wonderful piece in the Washingtonmonthly.com that showed that all these polls show that republicans really truly do not like Mitt Romney and don't even want to settle for him. The latest NBC poll has President Obama beating him by 6 points.

++The RNC says that not only is Romney lucky but he's smart the way he is running his campaign. But observers not that Romney has not sat down for an extensive interview with a journalist in over 600 days and that he has benefited--marginally--from the relentless pounding of President Obama. I'm not so sure. The dirty ways of Romney doing business are percolating on the web and will break out during the campaign.

++Yesterday, for example, Thinkprogress.org published 99 reasons not to like Romney. One of the glaring points was how he established off-shore bank account for businesses he aided through Bain Capital to avoid income taxes. All legal, sure, but the Boston Globe has gone further in detailing this aspect of his Bain business. Would it disqualify someone for governor, no? For President, I think it might.

++Meanwhile strange things are appearing on the economic horizon. Employers now have posted more job openings than at any time in 3 years. Warren Buffett is now investing more than he has in 15 years. His aide said that "Warren smells something big." A Democratic blogger posted a short comment that the economy will really take off shortly and he hopes President Obama will win in 2012 so people will finally give him credit when we enter a high growth period. Considering the gridlock here in Washington, maybe some in the economy figure they might as well get started, can't wait around forever.

++Speaking of Warren Buffett, Mitt Romney pays even a lower tax rate than the billionaire. Over all these years, even during his last run for President, Mitt Romney has not released his tax forms. Don't you think it's time? What's he going to go the whole general election campaign withholding how much he is worth?

++President Obama received some good news when the United States Court of Appeals in D.C. ruled in favor of his Affordable Care Act and blocked the challenge by Pat Robertson against it. Judge Silberman commented at great length about the individual mandate and how the plaintiffs arguments about its novelty didn't pass muster. Silberman, a Reagan appointee, went on at great length about the commerce clause in the Constitution and emphasized that the Court must start with an assumption that Congress is acting constitutionally when it passes laws.

++Last night I had the pleasure of listening to Judge John Stevens, the recently retired Supreme Court justice. Judge Stevens didn't frontally address the healthcare debate but suggested and has on other occasions that the Supreme Court will--by and large--affirm its constitionality. On other issues, one got a sense of his opinion of the more conservative judges. He clearly only has disdain for Justice Thomas but he shocked the liberal audience by defending Alito, who he said would suprise people, and even Anthony Scalia, whom he chastised the audience for feeling he, Stevens, might be a greater champion of individual rights than Nino. Stevens also told the audience that there is nothing like the confrontation between the President and the Court as existed during FDR. He warned his audience not to believe this.