Mitt Romney Dodges First Bullet and Herman Cain Takes Heavy Fire

Standing next to his rival, Rick Perry wasted no time in taking a shot at Mitt Romney at the CNN Debate Tuesday night.

"I'm an authenticate conservative, not a conservative of convenience," the Texas governor said during introductions at the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas Tuesday night.

But the early fire was aimed at Herman Cain, who was immediately put on the defensive with questions about his 9-9-9 tax plan. Perry, Ron Paul, Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum ganged up on Cain's proposal as harmful to middle- and working-class households.

The Georgia businessman dismissed critics' "knee-jerk reactions" and declared, "It does not raise taxes on people who are making the least."