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Herman Cain tested the national spotlight Sunday as the Republican presidential primary’s newest front-runner. Facing tough questions during a 25-minute one-on-one interview on NBC’s "Meet the Press," Cain acknowledged that his plan to simplify the tax code would raise taxes for “some” people and clarified his position that he doesn’t believe abortion should be an option in instances of rape and incest. Scrapping the current federal tax code — which he described as a “10-million-word mess” — would eliminate a host of invisible taxes and eventually reduce prices, Cain said. Some economists have pointed out that Cain’s plan would shift...

HARRIMAN, Tenn. — Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain says he's challenging Gov. Rick Perry for the GOP primary's critical evangelical vote. In an interview with The Associated Press on Saturday, Cain said the Texas governor "thought he had carved out that niche when he didn't own that niche by himself." The Georgia businessman said he doesn't wear his Christian faith "on my forehead" but believes his campaign will do well with religious conservative voters.

Let’s start with this basic fact: Herman Cain isn’t the most likely person to be the Republican nominee for president in 2012. That’s Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts. But, a new NBC-Wall Street Journal poll released late Wednesday suggests that — at least for the moment — a path to victory does exist for the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza. Here’s how — in three easy data points. 1. Cain is already top-tier: Cain has surged to 27 percent in a hypothetical national primary ballot test — up from just 5 percent in an August NBC-WSJ poll. His...

Fueled by Tea Party supporters, conservatives and high-interest GOP primary voters, former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain now leads the race for the Republican presidential nomination, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. snip Cain checks in as the first choice of 27 percent of Republican voters in the poll, followed by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at 23 percent and Perry at 16 percent. After those three, it’s Texas Rep. Ron Paul at 11 percent, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 8 percent, Bachmann at 5 percent and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman at 3 percent.

Herman Cain is the frontrunner now and I'm hoping that he is prepared for the onslaught that will surely come. From the PPP poll: Strong Tea Party support has Cain in the driver’s seat nationally, just as he has been on our last four individual state polls. With non-Tea Party Republicans Romney actually leads Cain 29-27. But with the Tea Party crowd Cain is getting 39% with Gingrich at 16%, Perry at 14%, and Romney in 4th place at 13%. Romney doesn’t need to win the Tea Partiers to be the Republican nominee. But he does need to finish better...

If anyone needed more evidence that the stars seem aligned for Herman Cain's campaign for presidency, then I submit the logically challenged Wall Street protestors. The intellectual bankruptcy and childish behavior of the protesters provide a jaw-dropping contrast to Cain, whose "only in America" success story gives breath to his pro-liberty and pro-America message, not to mention his This stark juxtaposition gives Cain a boost simply by its existence. The very nature of the gatherings -- the "Occupy" mobs versus the Tea Party rallies -- give us a glimpse into our collective choice of futures. Imagine: if our nation was...

Herman Cain's "9-9-9" tax reform is attracting enough attention to become the focus of this week's Presidential debate. As a plan for overhauling revenues and unleashing the private sector, it's a bold gambit that shows Cain is willing to take chances and shake up the Capital. The 9 percent business tax is a stroke of genius. It would give us the lowest business rates in the world and would make us the "tax haven" for investment from everywhere. The stock market would barely be able to stay abreast. The 9 percent personal income rate would eliminate all the deductions and...

MSNBC.COM - Fueled by Tea Party supporters, conservatives and high-interest GOP primary voters, former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain now leads the race for the Republican presidential nomination, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. And in yet another sign of how volatile the Republican race has been with less than three months until the first nominating contests, the onetime frontrunner, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, has plummeted to third place, dropping more than 20 percentage points since late August. "Cain is the leader ... That's the story," said Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, who conducted this survey with...

Just where does the Ol' Romnster plan on finding good democrats? After everyone of them voted for Obama's healthcare disaster? After they approved all of Obama's road trips to socialism? Get Real Romney!! Stop talking to us like a bunch of 5 year olds! Cain him Herman!...just Cain him....

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...