Ron Paul's presidential campaign is the first to respond to POLITICO's story this evening detailing accusations of inappropriate behavior made against Herman Cain when he headed the National Restaurant Association.
Paul campaign chairman Jesse Benton criticized Cain in an email for being soft on the Fed and supporting the 2008 bank bailouts — but didn't comment directly on the allegations against Cain.
"We plan to beat Herman Cain on the issues, like his support for TARP and his cozy relationship with the Federal Reserve, not by assaulting his character," Benton told POLITICO.
Each of Cain's rivals has to decide whether to go after him for the allegations of personal misconduct, or to let the story take its toll without any help from them. Paul is apparently choosing Door No. 2.