Just as his bid for the GOP presidential nomination is picking up speed, Herman Cain is taking a break from campaigning to promote his newly released book, This Is Herman Cain!: My Journey to the White House. Following a strong debate performance and a surprise win in the Florida GOP's straw poll last month, the former Godfather's Pizza CEO has defied predictions and risen to join Mitt Romney and Rick Perry at the top of the latest polls. Is it a mistake for Cain to take this "curious" side trip now?
Cain is not even trying to win: This is Cain's moment, say Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Brooke Brower at MSNBC. And he's squandering it. Cain's communications director just left — and with the crucial Iowa caucuses just three months away, Cain is going to spend most of October on a book tour. "Those aren't just signs of someone who's unlikely to win the GOP nomination; they're signs of someone who isn't really trying to win, a la Mike Huckabee in 2007-2008."
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