Upon telling his family that had been invited to give the commencement speech at Widener University in Chester, PA in May of 2016, Michael Smerconish recounted his son's reaction to hearing about the invitation: "Dad, the students must be bummed." Smerconish, the host of CNN's Smerconish and The Michael Smerconish Program on Sirius XM's POTUS Channel, would—in his remarks at Widener—narrate his improbable ascent from an occasional guest on various radio programs to becoming a fill-in for Bill O'Reilly, Joe Scarborough, and Chris Matthews, to finally achieving his lifelong dream of having a television show of his own. However, as he tells it, it was no smooth ride: "Nothing has fallen into my lap. I know people to whom things have come effortlessly, but it's never been my experience."
Michael Smerconish and Finding the Elusive Middle
