All eyes on Herman Cain in tonight's presidential debate

By: Jan Crawford
Topics: Crossroads

Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain speaks at a fundraiser for the Family Foundation on Saturday October 8, 2011 in Richmond, Va.

(Credit: AP Photo/ Richmond Times-Dispatch, Dean Hoffmeyer)

In the past few debates, the "Five Things to Watch" haven't changed that much. We all want to see how Rick Perry performs, whether Mitt Romney continues to deflect attacks, which one of the second-tier candidates shine or lands a blow, and so on--the usual stuff.

In tonight's debate, however, there is One Main Thing to Watch: the performance of Herman Cain.

If Cain continues to do well in these debates -- and avoids flip statements on things like electric border fences -- he's going to have a major impact on this race.

Already, Cain has shifted the dynamic in ways Rick Perry couldn't possibly have imagined when he announced he was running for president. Perry envisioned a two-man race against Romney, but so far he hasn't gotten the head-to-head matchup he wants.

Campaign insiders and strategists say privately that Cain has surprised them all by leaping over Perry in the polls. Cain, not Perry, is now neck-and-neck with Romney.

If anything, the more voters see of Rick Perry, the more they seem to like Herman Cain.

The question for Cain--not only in tonight's debate, but in this campaign--is how he will run as a frontrunner and with a largely grass roots campaign. So far he's rising to the occasion. The man isn't lacking in confidence.

Consider for example how Perry and Cain have handled the issue of religion, which I expect CNN's Anderson Cooper, the debate moderator, to bring up tonight. Perry needs the support of evangelicals -- who, for example, made up 60 percent of Republican voters in 2008 in Iowa -- to beat Romney. That could explain his refusal to more forcefully denounce two evangelical leaders (both Perry supporters) who have questioned Romney's faith and called Mormonism a cult.

But as Perry plays the balancing act on Mormonism--and sends his wife Anita to South Carolina to talk about his Christian faith--Cain delivers straight talk.

In an interview with the Associated Press over the weekend, Cain said he's a "staunch Christian conservative," but he just doesn't wear it "on my forehead."

Cain said Perry was wrong to think he would carry the evangelical vote -- because he has a message for those voters, too. Perry "thought he had carved out that niche," Cain told the AP, "when he didn't own that niche by himself."

I watched Cain work the crowds over the weekend, and I sat down with him Sunday afternoon. Some of the things you hear from the pundits who refuse to take him seriously are true. Perry is crushing him in fund-raising and in the number of campaign staffers he employs. And there's Cain's 9-9-9 flat tax plan, which has its share of skeptics.

But I wouldn't be so quick to overlook what Herman Cain also has: a message of hope and optimism that Republican voters want to hear -- and a willingness to say things most politicians won't.

A recurring theme in Cain's new book is how he refuses to quit when challenged. He bets on himself. He works harder.

And then when he takes heat -- as when he said blacks were "brainwashed" into voting lockstep for the Democratic party, or when entertainer and activist Harry Belafonte called him a "bad apple" -- he doesn't back down.

"Harry Belafonte called me a 'bad apple.' Okay, what's a 'good apple?'" Cain told me. "A good apple is a Democrat, a liberal, who shuts up and does what he or she is told and doesn't make waves. That must be a good apple. If that's a good apple, then by definition I am a bad apple. Because I think for myself. I am a conservative. I am running for president as a Republican and I'm going to win."

Jan Crawford
Jan Crawford is CBS News' political correspondent.
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by maz_beachbum October 18, 2011 9:17 PM EDT: This debate is joke - I was looking for Romney and Perry to exchange blows there for a moment.; Reply to this comment


by conservativefreespeech October 18, 2011 8:40 PM EDT: Good to see that the other candidates are letting Romney/Cain get away with BS again tonight.; Reply to this comment


by anneshelby October 18, 2011 8:38 PM EDT: BORING; Reply to this comment

by kuching88 October 18, 2011 8:38 PM EDT

Herman Cain: This week's GOP Wonder Boy

Jack Abramoff, Bernie Madoff, Ted Bundy and Charles Manson are unavailable so Republicans might settle for Romney, Perry or even "Uncle Herman" Cain.

A secessionist, a cultist, Confederates, economic radicals, a Jersey thug, Tea Party Twits and assorted religious nuts are all The GOP has to offer.

Republicans have become so radicalized as to be UN-AMERICAN.

We are witness to the death of the GOP. It is suicide.

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by lope11 October 18, 2011 9:00 PM EDT: Well Cuzz "For several months, radio host Tom Joyner has pleaded with his 8 million listeners to get in line behind the first black president.

'Stick together, black people,' says Joyner, whose R&B morning show reaches one in four African American adults."

by costaricabob October 18, 2011 8:24 PM EDT

The established democratic and republican bases refuse to bow to the wishes of the American public, they have established criteria that makes most people who would run for office cringe, it takes millions of dollars to even be a candidate, this time I believe that Cain will not need millions to win the nomination, it will however take a vast majority of Americans expressing their desire for a "non politician" as their candidate something the nominating committee does not want to hear.......

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by ainttaken October 18, 2011 8:27 PM EDT: gosh bob
like any of this going to affect you down in costa rica
or are you one of those guys who has millions Cain is going to protect
pardon me if I'm not listening


by ainttaken October 18, 2011 8:20 PM EDT: I'm expecting tonight's candidates to drive out on the stage and all get out of a tiny little car; Reply to this comment


by m1ldbrew October 18, 2011 8:18 PM EDT: To win as a Repuke, one must be more hateful, angry, loud, crass, and racist in any order. He/she must use scare tactics against any number of enemies as defined by Hannity, Coulter and Limbaugh.; Reply to this comment

by ainttaken October 18, 2011 8:15 PM EDT

bmallen3 October 18, 2011 8:09 PM EDT
how much does it cost to have all of these illegals here?

glad you asked
a heck of a lot less for those "patriots" who employ them
how is an galactically expensive fence going to work and what is wrong with finding a cell for those who hire them?
get a grip dude and reject the hypocrisy

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by cwright213 October 19, 2011 7:18 AM EDT: Exactly!!!!We can't have slave owners getting arrested now can we?


by ainttaken October 18, 2011 8:11 PM EDT: an electric fence
BRILLIANT
these illegals who dig tunnels for miles can get under this one in less than 10 feet
hard time for the guys who employ illegals. watch the problem disappear almost immediately....and cheaply; Reply to this comment

by ainttaken October 18, 2011 8:05 PM EDT

an electric fence?
and this guy is supposed to be financially astute?
hahahaha
ok right wing geniuses
give me an estimate to build and constantly power an electric fence over more than a thousand miles.
Whats to keep an illegal from shorting it out or cutting a hole with a pair of insulated gloves and some bolt cutters.
These guys really want the illegals to keep costs down
all this insanity over an electric fence is just to get you to vote for them.
People that talk like this dont want less govt spending for their own idiotic projects. Jail employers and watch the problem dry up fast

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