Ex-pizza executive in Republican spotlight

Businessman Herman Cain vowed  to implement a "bold plan" of tax and spending cuts as Republican presidential candidates traded barbs during an economy-focused debate. Cain was asked the first question, a symbol of his recent rise to second place in the Republican contest to win the party's nomination and try to defeat President Barack Obama in the November 2012 election. The former Godfather's Pizza CEO wants to throw out the US tax code and replace it with his "9-9-9 plan," which would impose a nine percent tax on individuals and corporations and institute a nine percent national sales tax. At the seventh Republican presidential debate, eight candidates sitting at a table tackled some of the nation's biggest problems, including the 9.1 percent unemployment rate, the financial instability of the Medicare health program for the elderly and controversial Wall Street bailouts. The debate was held at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, a high-stakes state that will hold the country's first primary election, probably in early January. The spotlight was on Cain, who has shot up past Texas Governor Rick Perry to second place in national surveys after winning straw poll test votes in Florida and Minnesota. A Gallup poll released Monday found businessman Mitt Romney barely in the lead, at 20 percent, followed by Cain at 18 percent and Perry at 15 percent. Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, holds a large lead in New Hampshire and a smaller one in Iowa, according to polls released Tuesday by MSNBC television and the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. The largely rural, midwestern state of Iowa plays a critical role as it holds the nation's first caucus votes that are usually the first major US electoral event for president. Speaking to reporters before the debate hosted by Bloomberg and The Washington Post, Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz called the Republican candidates' proposals for the economy "a recipe for disaster." Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman added some levity to the night by saying he thought Cain's plan "was the price of a pizza." Another attempt at humor by Huntsman -- calling Washington, DC "the gas capital of the country" -- prompted Perry to roll his eyes. Perry has dropped from first to third place in recent polls after poor debate performances and adopting positions controversial with Republican voters, such as backing in-state tuition rates for illegal immigrants. Perry called for opening up areas in the United States to produce energy, saying it would create 1.2 million jobs for Americans. Romney promised to be a leader. Obama "said he'd bring us hope and change. Instead, he's divided the nation and tried to blame other people," Romney added.