HUH: Cain No. 1 in National Poll!

A new Public Policy Polling survey reflects the Herman Cain surge: While it does not take into account last night's debate, in which Cain was front and center, it shows him comfortably atop the latest national poll. Cain has 30%, followed by Mitt Romney (22), Newt Gingrich (15), Rick Perry (14), Michele Bachmann (5), and Ron Paul (5).

The big caveat: Cain's support looks to be squishy, with only 30% of his backers saying they are solidly committed. Romney and Gingrich have similar percentages. Perry's slip to fourth behind Gingrich might look like another dose of bad news for him, but the Daily Intel blog at New York says not so fast. Consider that he has the highest percentage (48) of supporters who say they will definitely vote for him. "The proportion of Republicans who don't want to vote for Romney seems very large and undeterred by the lack of credible alternatives," writes Jonathan Chait. Perry has money and at least the possibility of improving as a debater. "If Republicans aren't flocking to Romney now, it's a sign they want to give every chance for somebody else to emerge."