Rick Perry's bad political week continues

First, Florida wingnuts are showing him no love; Pizza Man Cain won the state's straw poll. And, it wasn't even close:

Cain received 37% of the vote. Perry, who made by far the most extensive effort, was a distant second with 15%.  He barely edged out Mitt Romney, who did not compete here, at 14%.  He was followed by Rick Santorum, 11%; Ron Paul, 10%; Newt Gingrich, 8% and Jon Huntsman, 2%.

That said, we all (except Paultards) know these straw polls mean little; if they actually had value, Ron Paul would have been nominated three years ago.

But, they are a good "Finger in the wind" for activists' weather vane. And, basically, Floridians really, really aren't turned on by him.

Cain? As the story notes, some people settled on him as the "bearing a message" person, concentrating their votes. So, what this really means is that there's still no front-runner among the wingnuts. And, though the wingnuts don't have the "anointing" power they think they do, party leaders will note two things:
1. Perry ain't got it;
2. Romney did OK for not competing at all.

The point is, not who won, but that a message was being sent to Perry. A big one.

Second? Activists and leaders alike will also note new rumblings from New Jersey out of the Chris Christie camp. With Indiana's Mitch Daniels saying he'd like another face in the race, Christie could come on strong. He can skip Iowa and focus on New Hampshire, where he'll play better anyway, and concentrate on Romney.

Perry? If Christie jumps in, Tricky Ricky is dead meat. And, even Nate Silver can write a clunker once in a while, as he does in still touting Perry. That's further underscored by the fact that Perry actively campaigned to try to win the poll.

Sidebar: Perry and Cain are about in the middle of the pack in telling political whoppers. Sidebar 2: It's a two-person race so far on GOP endorsements, but Perry slippage, or a Christie run, could change that.