re: "I've heard "them" say, Romney benefits having Perry in 1st place at this point."
That's ridiculous. I used to hear "them" say the same thing about Tiger Woods when he was in the lead.
It's much better to be in the lead than to be in second place. Remember: The second place person is also being gunned for - by the third and fourth place candidates.
Perry has many supporters who don't yet know him. Maybe he'll lose his weaker supporters. But his support from others will also gel as time passes. If he's still in the lead today, he'll probably remain there.

Gold is $1,581/oz today. When it hits $2,000, it will be up 26.5%. Let's see how long that takes. - De 3/11/2013 - ANSWER: 7 Years, 5 Months