The Golden Report

Happy Halloween!

PREMIERING TONIGHT: “Rock Center” with Brian Williams- the network’s new primetime new magazine hosted by the anchor of the top-ranked evening news broadcast.

TOP STORY: It was a bad day for Herman Cain. As POLITICO first reported last night, the Republican presidential frontrunner is facing charges of sexual harassment that stem from his time as head of the National Restaurant Association. As chance would have it, Cain was in Washington today, where he was trailed by beltway political reporters. This morning, Cain spoke at the conservative American Enterprise Institute and at 12:30 he delivered a luncheon address at the National Press Club. In between, he went on FOX News for an interview and later this afternoon was interviewed by PBS’s Judy Woodruff for the Newshour tonight.

As POLITICO’s Alex Burns reports tonight, Cain’s day was filled with conflicting stories and carefully worded statements:

“Cain told the PBS “NewsHour” that he recalled a financial “agreement” with a woman who accused him of inappropriate behavior at the National Restaurant Association.

Only hours before, Cain said he was unaware of any “settlement” related to sexual harassment – a reversal he attempted to explain away through verbal hair-splitting.

“I was aware that an agreement was reached. The word ‘settlement’ versus the word ‘agreement’ you know, I’m not sure what they called it. I know that there was some sort of agreement, but because it ended up being minimal, they didn’t have to bring it to me. My general counsel and the head of human resources had the authority to resolve this thing,” Cain said.”

WHERE THIS LEAVES THE CAMPAIGN: This is the kind of story that just isn’t going to away for Cain. The media is looking into every aspect of this story..and it hardly matters that it may be 15 years old. Cain is not helping his cause by seemingly changing the story by the hour- such inconsistencies make him appear to be a candidate who is confused and on the defensive. The person who might gain the most from what is turning into the political story of the week? Mitt Romney. For every day before voting begins that the attention is on somebody other than Romney, the better for Romney’s chances- and for the air of inevitability around him.

RICK PERRY also had a bad day. This video (and other variations and spoofs) is making its way around the Internet. It shows Perry in New Hampshire delivering a speech over the weekend. He appears more animated than usual, very lively behind the podium with frequent gesticulations, almost as if he is intoxicated. It’s too early to know what this video may mean for the campaign- if anything- but it did get airtime on the evening news tonight

JUST IN- Connecticut has been declared a Federal Disaster Area, per an order signed by President Obama this evening. It makes aid available for state and local governments in response to the weekend’s unusual but devastating October snow storm. Over half of Connecticut Light and Power customers remain without electricity tonight and many jurisdictions issued emergency orders postponing Halloween festivities, including trick-or-treating, tonight. It could be a week or longer before power is restored.

GREECE’S Prime Minister, George Papandreou, announced today that his nation will hold a referendum on a bailout proposal once details are finalized with the European Union. Protests have continued in Greece since the framework for a deal was announced last week and it is unclear if a no-confidence vote like what Papandreou is proposing would pass.

WALL STREET: News from overseas was felt on Wall Street again today and markets finished near their lows for the session.

• DOW down 276
• NASDAQ down 53
• S&P 500 down 32

PRESIDENT OBAMA underwent a physical exam today (his second since taking office) and the White House reported the President’s medical report, which found him in “excellent health” and “fit for duty”

“All clinical data indicate he will remain so for the duration of his Presidency. The president is current on all age-appropriate screening tests. He is ‘fit at fifty’ and “staying health at 50+” the report says. It also reported a “well healed lower lip laceration.” Benign skin tags were removed from the President’s neck.

THE PRESIDENT weighs 181.3 pounds.

UNESCO- the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Affairs Organization- most well-known for the UNESCO World Heritage Sites- today voted to permit the Palestinian Authority to have full membership in its body- a move that prompted the United States to announce that it would pull its funding for UNESCO, per standing US law. The United States supports UNESCO with about 22% of its budget- $80 million a year.

As the Associated Press reports:

“The prohibition on U.S. funding of U.N. agencies that recognize a Palestinian state was included in two pieces of legislation that were signed into law by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 and President Bill Clinton in 1994.

The 1990 law prohibits the appropriation of funds “for the United Nations or any specialized agency thereof which accords the Palestine Liberation Organization the same standing as a member state.”

In 1994, Congress barred funding “any affiliated organization of the United Nations which grants full membership as a state to any organization or group that does not have the internationally recognized attributes of statehood.”

AND FINALLY…Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries are divorcing, it was announced today. TMZ broke the story and obtained the official divorce documents. The couple have been married since August 20th, “in a lavish ceremony in Montecito, CA. There are reports that the wedding cost as much as $10 mil, which means $138,888 for every day until today,” TMZ reported.