State of the Union Early Bird for October 30, 2011

(CNN)-It's early, and State of the Union is bringing you the best of the morning headlines to go with your cup of coffee.

On our radar this morning:  The latest polling out of Iowa, Ron Paul wins another straw poll, and President Obama's campaign hurdles.

Check out what we're reading, and be sure to watch our exclusive interview with Obama senior campaign strategist David Axelrod and our interview with Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul.

2012 CAMPAIGN

Herman Cain, Mitt Romney lead new Iowa Poll

Ron Paul wins both tallies at GOP straw poll in Iowa

Ron Paul has won two separate tallies for the National Federation of Republican Assemblies Presidential Straw Poll.

Obama's demographic support may not weather economy

To win, Obama needs big margins among his two core groups, minorities and college-educated white professionals, plus a reasonable share of whites without college degrees — the working-class voters who formed the bedrock of the Democratic majority in the 20th century, but who now tend to vote Republican.

Right now, he's in danger on both sides of that equation.

Obama's Swing-State Cash Problem

In both Florida and Nevada, Romney nearly doubled the president’s haul, despite a crowded field of Republican candidates who are also vacuuming up donations. Romney also boasts bigger totals in both Colorado and Michigan, where he’s so far beaten the president by $30,000 and $400,000, respectively.

Ending speculation, Perry will debate

THE ECONOMY

The debt fallout: How Social Security went ‘cash negative’ earlier than expected

In his February budget request, Obama ignored the Social Security blueprint put forth by his own bipartisan panel on debt reduction. During this summer’s debt-limit showdown, he endorsed the panel’s proposal to tie future benefits to a less-generous inflation index. But Obama took that idea off the table in September when he submitted recommendations to a special debt-reduction “supercommittee” now at work on Capitol Hill. Until recently, members of the supercommittee said, Social Security had rarely come up in their closed deliberations.

IN OTHER NEWS…

3 dead, over 2 million without power as snowstorm slams Northeast, Mid-Atlantic

Assad: challenge Syria at your peril

"Syria is the hub now in this region. It is the fault line, and if you play with the ground you will cause an earthquake … Do you want to see another Afghanistan, or tens of Afghanistans?"

U.S. Is Planning Buildup in Gulf After Iraq Exit

The Obama administration plans to bolster the American military presence in the Persian Gulf after it withdraws the remaining troops from Iraq this year, according to officials and diplomats. That repositioning could include new combat forces in Kuwait able to respond to a collapse of security in Iraq or a military confrontation with Iran.

Thanks for reading!