Big Man Herman

Jillian Bandes | February 19, 2010 9:15 AM

Hermain Cain's three-point plan for America seems very boring on paper:

1. Stay involved.
2. Get your neighbors involved.
3. Stay informed.

Thing is, Cain could be reading the phone book, and he'd still sound like someone who could solve every crisis in America

One of my other callers last night said, 'Mr. Cain, we need a revival'...Thats what this is all about. We must be the defending fathers of this nation.

Given Cain's delivery, it sounded like he was single-handedly prepared to be the defending father of the nation.

Cain's radio show reaches millions of people each week, and it's infused with more humor, brimstone, and African-American themed anecdotes than you'll find in any other conservative talker. Those qualities were even more pronounced in his live CPAC appearance, and a relatively small crowd of three or four hundred early-morning attendees were enthusiastically responsive.

I wished he would've gone into some more detail, though. Cain's charms are his ability to break things down into bite-size nuggets, and of course, his booming, theatrical voice. But specific information about the numbers of uninsured, given while dropping names from important-sounding policy researchers, was a welcome break from his calls to "take back America," and to get started "altering and abolishing" things, as the Declaration permits.

But perhaps some back-to-basics, conservative fire and brimestone was just the ticket to wake up the second day of CPAC. Cain's 8:30 slot was a tough act to follow.