Overlooked Clue in Cain's Sex Harassment Story

Here's the most neglected detail in the Politico story on Herman Cain and the sex harassment charges:

Both women received separation packages that were in the five-figure range.

In the context of late 1990s sex harassment litigation, that is a small settlement.

(Here's a sampling of some recent settlements, with awards of up to $80 million.)

The smallness of the settlement deserves attention because sexual harassment is a tort that covers a lot of territory, everything from prolonged and brutal sexual humiliation to an untoward joke. A settlement in the $10,000-$90,000 range is likely going to arise from behavior that is on the low-end of the spectrum.

If it turns out that this case arose because Herman Cain said something that he thought was funny - but that somebody else did not - I doubt that anybody would regard that as legitimate reason to disqualify him for the presidency (from which he is sufficiently disqualified on other grounds).