Herman Cain made a campaign stop at The Ohio State University in Columbus on Wednesday 11/30/11 and a Coach Woody Hayes impersonator introduced him. Woody Hayes endorsing Herman Cain? Is that really appropriate for a public college icon? Does this mean that Brutus Buckeye will be endorsing Romney or Newt next? I hope not. The introduction, which was pretty political, seemed to be an inappropriate use of a symbol of a publicly funded University.
Woody, who has been dead since 1987, was a staunch Republican. He was a personal friend of President Richard Nixon. Nixon even gave the eulogy at Woody’s funeral. Woody Hayes also was someone who valued character and integrity above all else. He also knew a lot about US foreign policy and endowed the National Security Studies chair at Ohio State’s Mershon Center for International Security Studies. I strongly doubt Woody would support someone like Herman Cain, who lacks those things.