As the polls (and pols) turn: A look at the latest GOP presidential standings

The good news is the latest numbers released at this writing (Tuesday) has my three favorite presidential candidates topping the polls, though their poll positions are not necessarily indicative of my support.

The bad news is I really only think one candidate is truly capable of leading our country the way it needs to be led. And that person is not the one on top.

A CBS poll released Tuesday morning had an interesting take from what we’ve seen lately with former Godfather’s Pizza CEO and generally amicable family man Herman Cain leading uber-CEO and former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney, followed by Newt Gingrich, who was actually able to balance the federal budget once upon a time when he served as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

So, there’s my top three, though in my poll it goes Romney then Cain, followed by Gingrich. Noticeably absent from my top three list (I’m sure all Tea Partiers noticed immediately) is Rick Perry.

And Michelle Bachman. And Rick Santorum. Unlike Perry’s preacher, I won’t support/vote for/endorse a candidate because we share the same faith. On the same note, I won’t withhold my vote because we don’t, which, of course, is the way our Founders intended it to be.

I want to like Perry.

I mean, seriously, what’s not to like about a twangy Texas governor who prides himself on kicking butt and taking names? There’s certainly an appeal there. I get it.

But there’s not much more than that. There’s no substance to Perry.

I’ve said this before in jest, but honestly, any decent Republican governor can run Texas. You’ve got a lot to work with. What you can’t do in Texas is allow illegally immigrants to attend college for in-state tuition.

What kind of state does he think he’s running, after all, North Carolina?

I know everyone got all excited about a super-hero presidential candidate, but Perry’s all smoke and mirrors.

As seasoned politico Brit Hume commented, Perry’s debate performances amount to him throwing up on himself.

On the debate front, I thought I’d be tired of so many GOP presidential debates dragging on and on by now, but I’m not.

In fact, which shouldn’t really come as a surprise to anyone, myself included, I really enjoy watching the debates.

My candidate hasn’t changed. If anything, it’s strengthened my resolve that Romney must be our next president. It’s whom I prefer he tap as a running mate that changes after every debate.

Cain peaked the past couple of weeks and, even though he remains on top of the polls, he won’t stay there for three reasons, and it’s not his nine-nine-nine tax plan, which certainly has some positives.

Cain can’t win-win-win the nomination because he doesn’t have what it takes: money, money, money.

My favorite political analyst says Cain will drop out after Iowa and endorse Romney. Cain just doesn’t have the money to stick it out, and he and Romney appear to be friendly with one-another.

Might they be running mates as well?

There’s still a lot of campaigning left, but I sure hope it’s yes, yes, yes.