Cain Rises to the Top of GOP Field and Newt Follows

New polling numbers are in after the last GOP debate Tuesday night in New Hampshire. The top spot goes to Herman Cain. Mitt Romney slips to second place and in some polls, Newt Gingrich comes in third.

In a WSJ/NBC poll conducted from October 6 - 10, before the debate on October 11, Cain came in first with 27%, Romney with 23% and Perry with 16%. Polls conducted by Rasmussen and Public Policy Polling have Gingrich in third place. The polls are fluid, of course, and some still show Romney in first place.

Meanwhile, another poll in the 2012 horse race released Wednesday, a Reuters/Ipsos Public Affairs National Poll, showed Romney on top with 23% and Cain in second at 19% - a difference that also fell within the sampling error.

Cain has clearly taken the most conservative of voters away from both Bachmann and Perry. Is he the flavor of the month? He says no but time will tell. The most conservative in the GOP have jumped from candidate to candidate, both declared and undecleared, so they have shown fickleness. From Donald Trump to Michele Bachmann to Chris Christie to Rick Perry, the most conservative think they have a great candidate who will meet the purity tests only to discover they are all mere mortals with mixed bags of philosophy and voting records.

In order to continue on, Cain is going to have to get off the book tour and ramp up his campaign organization plus raise some serious money. Both Romney and Perry will have plenty of money moving forward.

I like Herman Cain. I think, however, once people fully digest his 999 economic plan, reality will set in and second thoughts may begin. Plus, he has no foreign policy experience or any elected experience. The presidency is not an entry level position. We've been paying the price for an extremely inexperienced person in the Oval Office since Barack Obama was elected on sound bites and celebrity appeal.

Let's not go down that path again.

I think Cain would be a terrific choice for Vice-President.

As for Newt, I think it is terrific that he is getting a second look. His is a brillant and curious mind. He puts forth many worthwhile ideas and the best attribute is that he refuses to get down in the gutter with other candidates. He truly adheres to Reagan's Eleventh Commandment and is a happy warrior. The attacks should be aimed at Barack Obama, not at other candidates. The primary voters can determine who to support without the unnecessary and divisive negativity.