I said yesterday that Herman Cain is now the center of gravity for the GOP’s 2012 candidates. Today, Fox News shows a meteoric rise for Herman Cain. And it is pretty much all at Rick Perry’s expense.Perry is down 10 points to 19%. Herman Cain has skyrocketed to 17%. They are in statistical tie with Mitt Romney who is at 23%. Last month, Romney was at 22%. This is telling in a number of ways.First, Perry really has had as bad a week as many of us have been saying and he could not apologize fast enough for that “heartless” remark. He finally did today.Second, on the national scene these debates seem to matter.Third, Herman’s message is really resonating.But most significantly for me is just how stagnant Mitt Romney is. Even more so, when asked who the voters have most in common with, Rick Perry leads the rest of the field with 17% and Herman is in second place at 14%. Mitt Romney? Only 12% of the voters think they have something in common with him.This again suggests that primary voters are trying desperately to find an alternative to Mitt Romney and Perry’s performance over the past few weeks, culminating in that debate, has given folks cold feet.Perry needs to get out now with his jobs plan and get back on the jobs message.Cain? He needs to translate this into some serious fundraising. The quarterly deadline is September 30th, so if you are a Cain fan, you better pony up. Because the message next week is not going to be his polling, but his money. Same goes for Perry.