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Herman Cain woke up Tuesday to another day of soaring polling numbers, showing him moving into second place behind Mitt Romney and pushing Rick Perry out of the spotlight. The day ended with the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO under attack from his rivals, both on stage and in a series of post-debate press releases meant to tear him down. But from his new center-stage spot next to Mitt Romney, Cain calmly weathered every jab from them, the moderators and even the Democrats, walking out from the Dartmouth auditorium having done little to hurt his standing.

Presidential candidate Herman Cain struck back at black leaders who criticized him as callous toward the poor and ignorant of history, saying he will not allow people who "don't want black people to think for themselves" to try and "intimidate" him into keeping silent. The businessman and Republican presidential candidate, in an interview on Fox News, vigorously defended himself against critics unhappy with his recent comments on race and the Occupy Wall Street protesters. Singer Harry Belafonte called Cain a "bad apple." Princeton University professor Cornel West said Cain's remarks reflect a "coldness toward poor people."

This is not a fanboy column about Herman Cain. I may wind up supporting Cain, but this is a column about political dynamics and how elections work. At the moment, I’m less infuriated by the debate about who should win than I am by the stubborn refusal of the punditry to acknowledge who actually is winning. If you listen to the talking heads on any network, the near-universal conclusion is that the collapse of Rick Perry makes a Mitt Romney nomination inevitable. Yes, Cain is surging, and in some polls has actually passed Romney for the lead, but this is...

Ann Coulter on the GOP Presidential field.

Once considered a bottom-tier candidate, with no chance at the White House, Herman Cain is surging. He came in second in the ABC News-Washington Post poll Tuesday, tying Texas Gov. Rick Perry with 16 percent of support from “leaned” Republicans, behind Mitt Romney with 25 percent. Cain quadrupled his support from a month ago when he was at 4 percent, while Romney didn’t budge. His win last month at the Florida GOP P5 straw poll - in which Perry heavily invested – was also a big victory for his campaign, which has none of the financial backing or staffing of...

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Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan, which the former Godfathers Pizza CEO and current Republican presidential front runner claims will slash taxes and consequently boost the economy, includes some tax increases that may not go over well with many struggling Americans: specifically, sales taxes on both food and clothing. During an interview with CNN's Candy Crowley on Sunday, Cain said food and clothing would not be exempt from the 9 percent national sales tax he would attempt to enact if elected in 2012. Crowley, who seemed surprised by a potential tax on those basic necessities, pushed Cain to expand on his reasoning....

The rise of Herman Cain speaks volumes about America

Poll: Cain closing gap on Romney in IowaBy Meghashyam Mali - 10/11/11 08:43 AM ET A new poll shows businessman Herman Cain closing the gap with GOP rival Mitt Romney in Iowa thanks to his strong support among Tea Party voters. The new NBC News-Marist poll shows Romney with just a three point lead in Iowa. The former Massachusetts governor won the support of 23 percent of likely GOP caucus-goers with Cain in second place with 20 percent. Cain's strong showing in the poll reveals his strength among Tea Party-supporters where he bests Romney 31 to 15 percent. Among likely...

Rational people realize that President Obama's policies have been an abysmal failure, which is why his only hope for re-election is to try to sow confusion among the voters, such as those populating "Occupy Wall Street." People often say the success of democracy depends on an informed electorate. Given his record, that's the last strategy Obama can afford to embrace. Short of a fortuitous economic miracle falling into his lap, his only hope for re-election is that enough voters are misinformed. From day one, Obama has been savaging George W. Bush for bequeathing him "the worst economy since the Great...

The second poll in a few days shows Herman Cain jumping into second place in New Hampshire. A survey from the Harvard Institute of Politics and the New Hampshire Institute of Politics shows Cain with 20 percent of the vote, trailing Mitt Romney, who remains in first place with 38 percent. Ron Paul is in third place with 13 percent. The poll comes on the heels of a WMUR/UNH poll that put Romney at 37 percent, Cain at 12 percent and Paul at 9 percent. Both polls had Rick Perry languishing with just 4 percent of the vote.

This is being broadcast on C-SPAN now. Also, webstreaming at http://www.afa.net/vvs/ The Values Voters Summit in Washington DC runs through tomorrow evening.

Poll: Cain surges, opens up 20-point lead on RomneyBy Alexis Levinson - The Daily Caller 1 hr 9 mins ago In news sure to inject shock and awe into the Republican political primary season, a Zogby poll released Thursday showed Herman Cain leading the Republican field, topping former front-runner Mitt Romney by an astonishing 20 points. Cain would also narrowly edge out Obama in a general election, the poll found, by a 46�“44 margin. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, would lose by a point to the president, 40 percent to 41 percent. Texas governor Rick Perry, who has slipped in...

Okay here me out on this.

Herman Cain's star is rising. The unexpected Florida straw poll smash victory by Cain has led to voters taking a second look at the former pizza entrepreneur. A new Washington Post/ABC News poll shows that Cain has risen into a tie for second place with the falling Rick Perry -- each claiming a 16 percent share of GOP voters. A solid 25 percent of GOP voters just like Gov. Mitt Romney. He seems to have a solid base that neither rises nor falls. The other 75 percent of GOP voters are in search of a candidate with whom to fall...

Mitt Romney, save for a late conversion, never seemed to care much about getting tea-party votes. Rick Perry, the Texas governor who entered the GOP presidential race last month, figured to supply a tea-party alternative to Romney at the top of the race. But after three debates in which his rivals attacked him relentlessly, it became clear that Perry's executive order requiring HPV vaccines for girls in Texas might undermine some of his small-government, libertarian credibility -- a must-have, along with a dedication to lower spending, for anyone seeking the support of tea partiers in 2012. But the third-place candidate...

Herman Cain has been rising up the polls in recent days, and he joined Glenn on radio this morning to talk about his candidacy for 2012. Mr. Cain was pretty impressive and his 9-9-9 tax policy even had Glenn breaking out the Barry White, a ritual usually reserved for the Chris Christie conservative porn. “You notice I don’t give generic answers to some of these big things that we face. I talk about solutions. And this 9‑9‑9 economic growth and jobs plan has resonated with people. I’m talking about people who are out working every day, they are here one...

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's decision not to run for president is predictable and offers the possibility of changing the dynamic of the Republican primary election. . . . I had a chance to hear Herman Cain live and in person last night at the Monday Meeting in New York City. He brought the house down -- getting three standing ovations and captivating a crowd that is usually is more hard-headed and analytical than emotional.

Former CEO and Federal Reserve Governor Herman Cain has been surging the last several weeks. The conservative leader has pushed into second place, tying with Texas Governor Rick Perry. He's received a lot of media coverage lately and was interviewed on the Tonight Show last week. Cain has also been impressive in individual states. Cain's name recognition is rising, along with his popularity. His message of fiscal prudence and the 9-9-9 tax plan are welcomed by many. Cain's candidacy is combining fiscal and social conservatives and his remarks supporting Israel will draw in national security hawks. In polling released today,...

Vision for Economic Growth * The natural state of our economy is prosperity. Freedom ensures that. * We must get the government off our backs, out of our pockets and out of our way in order to return to prosperity. * Policy uncertainty is killing the economy.