Herman Cain Scores An Upset In Florida

In a rather stunning upset yesterday, Herman Cain won the Florida Republican presidential straw poll. And he won it by a pretty wide margin. Cain's landslide victory, with 37 percent of the vote, exceeded the combined total for Perry and Mitt Romney, who only garnered 15 percent and 14 percent, respectively. Straw polls do not necessarily reflect the sentiments of voters at large. But the result of this vote rang true in one respect. Republican voters are ready to change the direction this country is going.  Herman Cain offers dramatic change. Cain's momentum was evident throughout the weekend. At a faith rally before the debate and a conservative forum after, Cain earned the loudest applause. By Friday night, he was so popular that his staff had to find a bigger room to accommodate admirers. But even then, in a room with a capacity of 700, a long line snaked out the door. Cain's centerpiece: his plan to scrap the tax code and replace it with a flat 9 percent tax on income, national sales and business profits. Saturday morning, in a speech before the vote, the crowd chanted "9-9-9!" and had an electric response to almost everything he said. "Let's send a message to Washington," he shouted. "We the people are still in charge of this country!" It resonated in a convention where vendors sold "Don't Tread on Me" ties and some activists dressed as revolutionary soldiers with tricorner hats. The more people hear from Herman Cain, the more they like him.  He comes across as very real, focused on solving problems rather than advancing a political career, but up to now he's come across as a Don Quixote, tilting at windmills.  He may have changed that perception in Florida yesterday. Members of the Republican establishment are not so smitten with Cain. In fact, Cain's victory has revived fantasies of a Chris Christie entrance into the race. From Politico: With the party’s front-runner sagging, Chris Christie is reconsidering pleas from Republican elites and donors to run for president in 2012, two Republican sources told POLITICO. From the Weekly Standard: There will be a lot of attention paid to Chris Christie’s Reagan Library speech Tuesday. From the New York Post: New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie is considering a run for president, after getting lobbied hard from some of the GOP’s top leaders and money men, according to a well-placed Republican source in direct contact with Christie’s camp. It would be a dramatic change of heart for the portly, pugnacious pol, who in the past has adamantly denied White House ambitions. The question in most minds: Can Herman Cain beat Barack Obama in the general election?  The Florida straw poll says rank and file Republicans are starting to think he can.  It's the Republican establishment that needs to be convinced.