The Corner

The Scene in Hillsdale

Today’s top story is coming to Hillsdale College, here in rural Michigan: Herman Cain is giving a speech in our gymnasium tonight.

A little background: Over the summer, a student group invited Cain to come to campus. About a week ago, his campaign accepted and everyone started making plans. The college’s only request was that Cain give a policy speech rather than a stump speech, and so tonight’s theme is foreign policy and national security. Nobody, of course, knew about the latest accusations until they surfaced yesterday and nobody seems to know what, if anything, Cain will say about them when he takes the stage around 6:30 pm.

The Secret Service has been here in force, with bomb-sniffing dogs and the like. I was surprised to learn that Cain has Secret Service protection — I thought this didn’t happen until closer to the nomination — but apparently he has faced a few credible death threats.

It’s snowing outside — the roads are slushy — and the media is descending from just about everywhere.

John J. Miller, the national correspondent for National Review and host of its Great Books podcast, is the director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College. He is the author of A Gift of Freedom: How the John M. Olin Foundation Changed America.
Exit mobile version