How Cain won Florida

It wasn 't fully clear at the time, but the political ground was shifting under Rick Perry ' s feet from virtually the moment he arrived here in Orlando for the Republican presidential debate and Florida GOP straw poll. Just how much the ground shifted wasn 't apparent until early Saturday evening, when Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced the poll 's results: Perry, and fellow leader Mitt Romney, and the rest of the Republican field finished far behind longshot winner Herman Cain. ….. Perry made a big effort to win the straw poll, and a week before the voting, it appeared he would reap big benefits. He had the money, he had the organization, he had the endorsements. And Cain? The Georgia businessman received his first endorsement less than 24 hours before the voting, when Florida state Rep. Scott Plakon announced he was supporting Cain. "I met with [Perry and Romney], and they 're both very good candidates," Plakon said later, "but I just couldn ' t get there. And my wife kept saying to me for days, what about Herman Cain ? " One thing led to another, and Plakon sat down for a talk with Cain on Friday evening. The two hit it off, and 20 minutes later, Plakon recalls, "I shook his hand and said, 'I ' m all in. '" Minutes after that, Plakon found himself introducing Cain before hundreds of loud, enthusiastic supporters . It was a good moment for both, but that was pretty much the extent of Cain 's establishment support. (Excerpt) Read more at campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com …