Free Republic

Herman Cain has defied the political odds so far in the face of campaign adversity, and it looks as if he has the GOP’s conservative base to thank for it. The last month of Cain’s presidential campaign has read like a textbook for how to doom a candidacy: having to deny allegations of sexual harassment, bungling important foreign-policy questions while saying he’s not “supposed to know anything” on the subject, releasing a bizarre Web ad and canceling an editorial board meeting with a key New Hampshire newspaper. And yet, in an Iowa State University poll released Thursday, the former Godfather’s...

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa- The KCRG-Gazette-Iowa State University poll of more than 1200 registered Iowa voters came out Thursday. Three candidates took nearly two-thirds of the overall vote. Herman Cain was at the top, with 24.5 percent. Not far behind, Texas Representative Ron Paul. Mitt Romney took about 16 percent. All other candidates polled in the single digits. When asked for a second choice, voters picked “can’t decide” more than 20 percent of the time, leaving a large gap of uncertainty in the race. In a somewhat surprising twist, Herman Cain polled better among women than other candidates in the poll....