Comparisons to Kennedy, Clinton and Edwards won’t work because the politics are asymmetric — Democrats don’t run on character and appeal to middle-class virtues. NOW gives serial abusers a pass if they vote the right way.

Five-figure settlements and nondisclosure clauses are standard practice in any separation agreement, and discrimination claims (based on race, gender or age) are virtually automatic when folks are laid off or fired. Privacy laws prevent the employer from responding in public to such charges, so it seems we have the perfect allegation, one that requires no substantiation and cannot be refuted.