Reports of past sexual harassment allegations against GOP presidential contender Herman Cain may turn out to be a few bad days for the candidate or a major scandal for his campaign. But regardless of how the specific story ends, Republican primary voters may be getting their first best look at how a President Cain would handle the top job.

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One of the positive attributes of Mr. Cain's former businessman resume is his status as a political novice, an outsider, someone who has a reputation for solving problems in the private sector and no responsibility for the current state of government. But one of his negatives is that, as someone who has never held public office, voters have no way to judge if his leadership skills in the business world would translate to the presidency. Over the past few days we have seen they may not.

It was reported on Sunday that two female employees of the National Restaurant Association accused its then Chief Executive, Mr. Cain, of inappropriate behavior and subsequently received financial settlements. Since then, the candidate has been on a whirlwind tour of media interviews offering bits and pieces of his side of the story along the way.

Most troubling was Mr. Cain's reaction to one of the women's request (through her attorney) that the association release her from a confidentiality agreement signed as part of her settlement. Appearing on the Fox News Channel Tuesday night, Mr. Cain was asked whether he would urge the association to comply with the request and said, "I can’t give you a definitive answer on that until we consult with our attorneys."

Deferring to the lawyers may be the smart thing to do in the business world but it hardly sounds presidential. A written statement of fact drafted after appropriate research, reflection (and yes, even a consultation with an attorney if necessary) would have been better than these numerous attempts to joust with journalists.

The American people are in serious need of decisive leadership. While this potential scandal is certainly not one any candidate would wish for, it gives Mr. Cain his first real opportunity to show he can decisively lead through a crisis. Hopefully he will step up to that challenge soon.