In the newest New York Times/CBS News heat check, Herman Cain and Mitt Romney are still vying for the lead while Rick Perry's base has dwindled all the way down to 6 percent, which is below that of Ron Paul who notched 8 percent support in the poll. At the top, Cain nabbed 25 percent of GOP leaning primary voters to Romney's 21 percent, which The Times cautions is still within the polls margin of error. The statistical dead-heat between the pair reflects exactly what the Real Clear Politics aggregate data shows, Cain leading Romney just barely in an average of all polls.

But back to a certain Texas governor: Perry's 6 percent support is not only below Ron Paul, its also below that of book-selling candidate Newt Gingrich, who nabbed 10 percent. No wonder the Texas governor is willing to bet on a radical retooling of his campaign starting with a wholehearted embrace of Steve Forbes and the flat tax, and fanning the flames of birtherism. Needless to say, there's still a lot of Republican voters who haven't made up their minds: "About eight in ten Republican primary voters say it is still too early to tell whom they will support," The Times writes.

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Erik Hayden