WASHINGTON & SANTA FE, NM (By Brian Montopoli, CBS) October 18, 2011 ― Polls suggest Herman Cain is one of the front-runners for the GOP presidential nomination. So why is it most political insiders privately dismiss his chances?

The one-word answer: Money.

The conventional wisdom in Washington ― and it is grounded in recent history ― is you can't win a presidential election without wealthy donors behind you. Those donors provide the money for a candidate to hire field staff and build a campaign organization in key early states, run advertisements to boost name recognition and create contrasts with rivals, and pay for the many costs (travel, security) of running for president. And without some big donors getting on board, other prospective donors are less likely to contribute because they fear the candidate may not be able to stay in the race for the long haul.

The flip side is also true. Donors give to candidates with lots of money.

Mitt Romney raised $14.2 million between July and September and has $14.7 million in cash on hand; Rick Perry raised $12.3 million in the same period and has 15.1 million on hand. Perry, the Texas governor, has relied largely on the energy companies and other corporations that make up his donor network in Texas, while Romney has shown himself to be Wall Street's preferred candidate, taking in significant donations from employees of large financial firms.

The two men far outpace the rest of the GOP field. That includes Cain, who lacks any sort of real fund-raising network: He raised just $2.8 million in the summer fund-raising period including a $175,000 personal loan from the candidate, and has just $1.3 million on hand.

While Perry and Romney have built up organizations in early states like New Hampshire and Iowa that will help them get out the vote, Cain has virtually no organization in place. He has started adding staff ― he's up to a few dozen people ― but he has nowhere near the campaign infrastructure of Perry and Romney. Indeed, Cain has seen more than his fair share of campaign turmoil, losing his communications director at the start of October, his top New Hamsphire staff in June and his top Iowa staff in July.

Cain, whose only serious bid for public office had been a failed 2004 bid for the GOP Senate nomination against Georgia's Johnny Isaakson, is trying to turn the shoestring, unorthdox nature of his campaign into a strength, insisting last week that "message is more important than money." Certainly, the simplicity of his message ― most notably, of course, in the form of his "9-9-9" plan ― has captured primary voters' attention.

But most Republican insiders believe Cain's personal magnetism and his "9-9-9" plan ― which has come under significant fire as Cain has risen in the polls ― isn't enough to keep Cain from ultimately ending up like the other recent candidates who have surged, and then flamed out, as the anybody-but-Romney choice.

The candidate himself isn't helping. Just as he shot to the top of the polls, Cain embarked on a book tour that kept him away from the key early states; this week he went to Tennessee, which doesn't hold a primary until March. Most of Cain's rivals, meanwhile, have been cross-crossing the key early voting states. Cain's lack of focus on early states has many political watchers wondering just how serious he is about trying to win the nomination.

And Cain's willingness to proclaim his lack of knowledge about a range of issues ― he boasted earlier this month "when they ask me who is the president of Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan, I'm going to say you know, I don't know" ― has fed concerns he simply lacks the range of knowledge to be a successful general election candidate, and, potentially, a successful president. He's made a number of claims he has later dismissed as jokes or exaggerations, including he would only sign bills that are three pages or less and he wants a fence on the Mexico-U.S. border that would electrocute people to death.

After Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain told a campaign audience he believed the federal government should erect a deadly, electrified, 20-foot border fence to help stem the flow of illegal immigration, Jon Garrido, owner of the Jon Garrido Network, which includes Hispanic News, slammed the Republican hopeful for “a staggering lack of sensitivity” and called on other candidates seeking the nomination to reject Cain’s proposal.

It began Saturday as Cain stumped in Cookeville, Tenn., where the surging candidate detailed his solution to the country’s illegal immigration trouble.

“First, secure the border for real,” Cain explained. “It’s common sense. Part of the solution would have a real fence. Twenty feet high, with barbed wire – electrified – with a sign on the other side that says it can kill you. It’ll be in English and Spanish.”

Those comments drew a sharp rebuke from Jon Garrido who warned Cain against using his popularity to irresponsibly stoke public opinion. "Mr. Cain’s words show a lack of understanding of the immigration issues our country is facing and a staggering lack of sensitivity. Mr. Cain is a racist and a joke and clearly does not understand the duty candidates have to offer responsible policy proposals."

Mr. Garrido added, “Mr. Cain has said America ‘needs to get a sense of humor,’ but there is nothing funny about killing persons looking for a job that an American will not do. This is exactly the same as the KKK in the early 1900s. Does Mr. Cain condone the KKK killings of innocent American Blacks? It appears Mr. Cain thinks it is one big joke running for President of the United States of the people and for all the people."