Presidential hopeful Ron Paul unveiled his economic plan yesterday, saying that he would balance the federal budget in his first year in office if elected.

Paul said that he'd accomplish this task by cutting one trillion dollars in government spending while eliminating five cabinet-level departments of government, including HUD and the the Departments of Energy, Commerce, Interior and Education. Under his "Plan to Restore America," Paul also would move to eliminate all foreign aid and war spending.

Paul currently stands in fourth place behind Romney, Cain and Perry for the candidate most likely to win the GOP nomination. He joins Carol Costello on American Morning today to discuss his new economic plan and to weigh in on what his chances are in this race ahead of tonight's CNN Western Republican Presidential Debate.

According to new CNN/ORC polling, Herman Cain and Mitt Romney are vying for the top spot among the 2012 GOP presidential candidates. The two candidates will join the other GOP presidential hopefuls tonight to go head to head at the Republican debate in Las Vegas, co-hosted by CNN and the Western Republican Leadership Conference.

Although these types of debates have been happening frequently across the country, CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein says that they are having an impact on voters. In fact, Brownstein calls the current campaign season a "nation audition" for the GOP candidates.

Today on American Morning, Brownstein joins Carol Costello in Las Vegas to weigh in on the latest polling numbers and to discuss what he is looking forward to at tonight's debate.

Herman Cain has rocketed up the polls with his charismatic personality and catchy 9-9-9 plan, but can he really be the leader of the Unites States with no prior government leadership experience?

David Frum, CNN contributor, discusses Cain's candidacy in his new CNN.com opinion piece, "Why Herman Cain can't be president." Frum argues that Cain's "style is no nonsense, but there is nonsense in the content."

Today on American Morning, Frum talks to Christine Romans about Cain's proposals, explaining why he thinks that his lack of executive governmental experience is a big problem for his campaign.

2012 GOP presidential candidate and Texas Governor Rick Perry has been slipping in the polls for the last few weeks, making way for candidates like Herman Cain to take the lead. Perry's performance in the debates has led to disappointing polling numbers while his wife, Anita, said in South Carolina that they are being brutalized by the GOP party for their Christian faith.

Governor Perry is unveiling his "Energizing American Jobs and Security" plan today in Pittsburgh. This morning on American Morning, Ali Velshi asks the governor about what we can expect from his jobs plan and Tuesday's upcoming CNN debate.

Velshi also asks how his wife Anita is handling the ups and downs of the campaign.

"You know, family members always take these campaigns more substantially personal than the candidate," Perry says. "I’ve been doing this a long time. I understand slings and arrows, and that’s a diversion frankly. This is the big leagues. Everyone understands that. It’s about the presidency of the United States. And we’re committed to this campaign.”

Velshi also asks Perry about Rev. Robert Jeffress, who caused some controversy when in the speech introducing Perry at last weekend's Values Voter Summit. He said the Texas governor was a genuine follower of Jesus Christ unlike another candidate he did not name. Jeffress later said he believes voters should choose Perry over Romney because Romney is a Mormon and Mormons are “not Christians,” and also called Mormonism a cult. Velshi asks if Perry was prepared to disavow the pastor.

“We live in a great country," Perry responds. "Our founding fathers gave us freedom of religion. And we certainly have that in America and I respect that. We have religions of all backgrounds. But we also have freedom of speech and I’m not going to spend my time defending everything that is said by someone who endorse me. It doesn’t mean I endorse what they said, and that is the case here."

Velshi also asks about what critics say is Perry's lackluster performance at recent debates.

"You know I hope I make progress every day in my life as well as my debate performances, but again Americans aren’t looking for the best debater,” Perry says.

GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain, the former pizza chain executive, has surged into the top candidate tier in the blink of an eye. And now a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll has him in first place nationally among potential Republican primary voters.

The Georgia businessman must have felt like a pinata at this week's GOP debate in New Hampshire, with the candidates ganging up on him and this "9-9-9" tax plan. But the criticism doesn't seem to be sticking. He's surging while Mitt Romney treads water and Rick Perry plunges. In the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, Cain is the republican front runner with 27% of the vote, four points better than Romney.

Roll Call's Shira Toeplitz talks to American Morning on whether Herman Cain can sustain the election season as a frontrunner.