Inappropriate conduct and the fringe frontrunner

Herman Cain's rise gives meaning to a truly new phenomenon in American politics: the fringe frontrunner, even in the wake of some disturbing news this morning (Cain thought it best, clearly, to use his charming singing voice to ward off critics). Ryan Lizza explains:

In previous elections, these fringe candidates have never come close to becoming serious contenders. They run to push the ideological debate further to the right or left and to make a name for themselves in the process. If they are lucky, they end up with some notoriety, a new national fundraising base, and perhaps a show on cable TV. These types of fringe candidates don’t truly prepare for the absurdities and difficulties of a Presidential campaign because in their heart of hearts they never believed they would make it very far. Herman Cain has made it, and the result is akin to a dog catching a car.

On the allegations, Jeffrey Lord comes to Cain's defense:

We can't have a conservative black man in the Oval Office because he was once accused by anonymous women of "inappropriate behavior"? But we can give a pass and an attaboy to a liberal white man who was actually in the Oval Office when accused of infinitely worse behavior by said multiples of women? Including, say again, rape? And now everybody just has a big ole laugh about it all at said ex-president's 65th birthday when Lady Gaga shakes her booty at Bill and everybody roars?

His colleague, Quin Hillyer, takes an entirely different view in response:

There is every reason for people to look into this further, and every reason for Cain to give a full accounting. People are falsely accused of all sorts of things, all the time. Cain merits the benefit of the doubt, for now, about these allegations -- but only long enough for him to put legitimate doubts to rest. He has not yet done so. And if there is any truth to the allegations, he has no business running for president, because he would be putting at risk not just himself but an entire nation which might suffer dire consequences were he to get the nomination but then, due to this issue, lose a general election match-up with the Alinskyite, Mussolini-economics enthusiast in the White House.