When Rick Perry got into the presidential race I was excited. To that point i’d held out hoping he’d get in. I liked Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain but did not think either had a chance.

Things have, of course, changed in the last few weeks. Perry has performed badly in debates, going so far as to call principled conservatives “heartless” for not supporting subsidized college tuition for illegal aliens.

Bachmann has also hurt herself by being to aggressive in her attacks against Perry while mostly ignoring Romney, the guy least trusted by conservatives. Her efforts have the effect of actually helping Romney!

Then there’s Herman Cain.

Cain has performed well in all thebdebates. He’s been knowledgable and given solid, substantive answers. More importantly, in my view, he’s remained above the fray by contrasting himself with other candidates while not attacking them.

The impact of all this has been Cain’s rise in the polls while both Perry and Bachmann have fallen. On Saturday Cain stunned everyone by winning the Florida straw poll! Now a Zogby poll ^[1] has Cain leading with Perry second and Romney third.

Speculation of a Cain/Rubio ticket is now rampant on Twitter! Can you imagine how the dems would handle that? Such a ticket would, at the very least, nake it very difficult for dems to play the race card.

Cain now claims ^[2] he can win a third or more of the black vote. If he’s right just think of impact that would have in the general election!

For many conservatives and tea party activists this race is equal parts conservative idealism and electability. At this juncture Cain seems to have both. The momentum has shifted and Herman Cain is in a great position to surge ahead.

If you can’t tell, I’ve now switched my suppot from Perry to Cain, a true American conservative.