Oh, how I love PR ploys like this one! In a sign that he has been auditioning to be the next Sarah Palin after all, Herman Cain last night and this morning made the cable news show rounds. At every appearance, he declined to endorse any of the remaining GOP candidates for president — but he repeatedly hinted at an upcoming big reveal of a “national movement.” (How nice to single-handedly start a “national movement”!) If you remember, he actually started the hype for this at his campaign “suspension” announcement. (You remember that rock rally of an announcement, don’t you?)

Now, though, we know a bit more about his plans. We know, for example, that Gloria Cain “is very supportive of this national movement.” We know he wants the movement to be a home for his former supporters and the “politically homeless.” We know he plans to officially announce the movement to Sean Hannity on Fox News tomorrow night.

But in case all of that doesn’t provide enough intrigue to keep viewers interested, Cain still claims he will endorse a candidate eventually — and in an “unconventional” manner in keeping with his “unconventional candidate” theme, to boot. Cain told Fox News’ Jenna Lee this morning that he is not endorsing a candidate right now because he doesn’t want to split his supporters at this time. Instead, he wants to continue to inspire his followers to be involved and to ensure they show up at the polls to vote for the GOP nominee and against Barack Obama. In other words, he’s still committed to the mission, which is to oust Obama; he just doesn’t want to waste a potential publicity boost later by endorsing now.

Then again, perhaps all of that is too harsh. Any time I write about Cain, I’m still uncomfortably aware that his version of it all could be the truth; he could have been the victim of MSM character assassination. I don’t think that, but I don’t know. Either way, with the suspension of his campaign, the clamor about the Herman Cain scandals receded — and, in every interview he delivered yesterday and today, Cain was upbeat about his family and concentrated on the specific message of beating Obama. He and his wife welcomed Grandchild No. 4 on New Year’s Day, and, in the end, some things — like that new little life! — are far more important than politics (although, paradoxically, that new little life is also why politics matters so profoundly).