Forget the eye-rolling. Let’s look at the numbers. Herman Cain is ahead of Romney in virtually all of the polls conducted in the past two weeks. In both Iowa and nation-wide Cain leads Romney by 30% to 22%,according to Public Policy Polling, a respected pollster. Meanwhile the latest NBC-Marist poll puts Cain ahead of Romney in South Carolina by 30%-26%, and shows Cain and Romney neck-and-neck in Florida. Cain leads in Ohio by 15%, and in Hawaii by 12%. Only in New Hampshire does Romney stubbornly hold a solid double-digit lead (15%).

Still, Cain could finish a strong second in New Hampshire. Cain is the second choice of Perry, Bachmann, Gingrich and Santorum voters, polls show. If some or all of them are out by the time New Hampshire Republicans go to the polls, Cain will benefit. Only Huntsman voters would shift to Romney, polls indicate. …

This is the power of the new force. It can grab a third-tier candidate by his lapels and put him on top. And the new force is seeking the most electable radical it can find, not the pol patiently waiting in the wings. They want a 21st century reformer who will take on the mid-20th century entitlement state, not a tinkerer trying to keep alive a consensus formed before many of them could vote.