However, if he wins the nod, then Sarah and Cain getting together against him would at least make it interesting, and less of a cinch for obama.
I'm not so certain about that. To be sure, many conservatives (including many FRiends here) would sit out the election if Romney is the Republican nominee, but many independents who will not vote for Perry (or Bachmann or Palin) would vote for Romney over Obama. It is an unpleasant fact that independents are the key to the election, as always. Wishing it were otherwise is fruitless. We have to find the most conservative candidate who is electable, and that means the most conservative candidate who can pull the most independents away from Obama. Right now, I don't know who, among the announced candidates, that person is.