A 'terrible tale' that nearly derailed Grover Cleveland's presidential campaign

In this episode of hiSTORY, Glenn Beck tells the story of Grover Cleveland's rocky 1884 presidential campaign, which was marred by the revelation that he had fathered an illegitimate child with a Buffalo widow ten years prior, before he launched his political career. The Cleveland campaign knew they couldn't conceivably deny the rumors, since it was well known among the people of Buffalo that Cleveland had given the boy his last name and helped place him with a foster family.

The scandal grew even larger when the woman, Maria Halpin, heavily implied that her relations with Cleveland were not consensual; somehow, however, Cleveland overcame the accusations to win the presidency, partly due to Halpin's reputation as a loose woman.

"I mean, I can't believe that his excuse of, 'Hey, we were just having this guy, orgy, locker-room thing' — I can't believe that that actually worked," Glenn marvels. "But apparently that was much better than rape, of course."

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