Cain Leads Obama in Latest Rasmussen Poll

If the latest Rasmussen poll is to be believed, President Barack Obama is seriously feeling the heat of the pizza oven.

Herman Cain has pulled ahead of Obama in the latest Rasmussen Poll, by a margin of 43 percent to 41 percent. This puts the Georgia businessman and former Godfather's Pizza CEO ahead in the polls over Obama for the first time.

In the GOP presidential nomination race, Cain is tied with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney; the rest of the field trails considerably behind.

Cain now has the chance to make the case for why he should be the challenger to Mitt Romney, said Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports. Many others have auditioned for the role and fallen flat, and it remains to be seen whether Cain's fate will be similar.

The Rasmussen Poll has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

'9-9-9 Tax' Plan Creates a Buzz

In recent weeks, Cain has been slowing gaining on Obama, as people continue to talk about his unconventional tax plan and a strong showing at the GOP debate at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., last Tuesday. Last week, Cain trailed Obama by three. The week before, he was right behind with five, the Rasmussen survey reported.

Cain's 9-9-9 plan would place a 9 percent tax on income and corporations and a 9 percent national sales tax, and although the consensus among both Democratic and Republican strategists was that Romney won the Dartmouth debate, not all political analysts saw it that way. GOP Strategist Mark McKinnon declared Cain the victor in Tuesday's debate because his 9-9-9 tax plan was the primary focus for much of the evening.

When a debate spends about a third of the time debating your plan, your win, McKinnon wrote for The Daily Beast. The guy who is in the spotlight right now, the guy who has launched himself to the top tier of most polls, the guy who got most of the questions, the guy who spent most of the night talking about his plan or answering questions or attack on his place, is the guy who won.

People should start taking him seriously. If he's not president, he could be vice president. Or bet the under and just start calling him Mr. Secretary, McKinnon said.