Sunday morning political rewind

(LIN) - Businessman Herman Cain called himself the real deal on Sunday only a week after taking Florida by storm in a straw poll.

“My win was convincing,” Cain said on Sunday. “The media outlets want to make it a contest between two governors…The voice of the people is much stronger than the media.”

Cain’s economic pitch is obviously resonating with voters. He touted his “ 9-9-9 ” plan on Fox. If elected president, Cain would effectively set the corporate, income and sales tax at 9 percent. “My objective is to broaden the base and make the tax code fair,” he said Sunday.

Herman Cain's "9-9-9 Plan"

Cain’s surprising win in the Florida straw poll vaulted him into third place among Republicans, only behind former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass. and Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas.

In addition, Florida is trying to move up its primary to January 31, making it a pivotal state for early 2012 momentum.

At the end of the third quarter of fundraising, Cain is expected to report somewhere “north of $2 million.”

While Cain’s straw poll victory stole headlines a week earlier, Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., may have taken some of the wind of Cain’s sails. Rumors are swirling that the highly sought after Republican governor may be privately evaluating a bid for the presidential nomination.

Earlier in the week, Christie spoke at an event hosted by former first lady Nancy Reagan at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. At the speech, Christie was urged by multiple supporters to join the 2012 fray.

If he decides to enter, Christie will likely shakeup what is considered to be a wide open field.

Gov. Bob McDonnell, R-Va., head of the Republican Governors Association, talked about a potential Christie ticket on “ Meet the Press. ”

“Chris is a unique, successful governor with a positive outlook, and I think would fare very well with the president,” he said. In fact, McDonnell just asked Christie to be his vice-chair.

But McDonnell says Christie would need to get in soon.

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Another topic of conversation Sunday was the death of American-born al-Qaida member Anwar al-Awlaki. Killed by a U.S. Predator Drone, al-Awlaki’s death was received almost universally as a crippling blow to a reeling al-Qaida group.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney, on “ State of the Union ,” commented on al-Awlaki’s demise. “It was a very good strike…an effective use of drone technology,” he said. Cheney also said a large part of credit was due to former President George W. Bush's administration after adopting intelligence and technology measures following the attacks of September 11.