0 was apparently governor chris christie who went off script who said he's going to have to beat the result if mitt romney is going to come out on top in november. >> on wednesday night, mitt romney is going to be standing on the same stage as the president of the united states and i'm telling you, david, come thursday morning, the entire narrative of this race is going to change. >> we'll see if he's right. but what chris christie says is right as predicted if you're mitt romney. donors are nervous, and perhaps in christie's mind his assertion was an atelt to boost the morral of romney's supporters. the bottom line, if christie's aspirations do not come true, romney has bigger problems. people who pay no federal tacks and get government help, were, quote, inarticulate. >> we've had some missteps but at the end of the day, the quote, the governor's done great job of convincing people that the economy's bad. he's got do a better job of making case that president obama's directly responsible for that. that's got to be his focus. if it becomes about anything else, then i think the governor's at a disadvantage. expect romney to go on offense, he has to. as someone in the campaign, perhaps unhelpfully leaked to "the new york times," quote, romney's team has conclude thad debates are about creating moments and it's equipped him with a series of zingers that he has memorized and has been practicing on aides since august. well, so much for keeping expectations low, right? romney also has to prove he can be 'depressive without allowing the president to get under his skin. he joked about how portman has been supporting him. >> he plays barack obama. we get a chance to debate one another. after an hour and a half or so is over, i want to kick him out of the room. >> another debate goal is his policies aren't just rehashed bush material. those are things he failed to live up to. while the campaign continues to feed the "we won't tell you the specifics" narrative. sunday paul ryan said it's not in the least bit true that cutting the tax rate by 20% would cut $20 trillion in five years. >> how much does it cost? >> it's revenue neutral. >> we'll get to the -- >> the cut in tax rates is lower, by 20%. >> how much does that cost? >> it's revenue neutral. lowering the tax rates by broadening the tax rates -- >> let me --. i -- >> you haven't given me the math. >> i don't have the time. it would take me too long go through all of the math. >> that's a quote you're going to hear a lot, i guess from the obama campaign and the president himself. meanwhile the president who's known for being a bit long-winded and can have an hour-long news conference with only eight questions is working to sharpen his responses. quote, we eh had a hard time getting every point across within the time limit. you're trying to make a case to the people, so you have to make sure your answers connect with people. he got some advice from howard dean. >> the president's got to avoid being irritable. hi's got to roll with the punches. mitt is going to be out there, aggressive. he feet to show a sense of humor and show he's likeable. that's all nonverbal cues. >> folks, these debates, though, they don't have time limits, they allow for a lot of back and forth. it will be interesting to see which candidate enjoys that idea that you don't have any limits capable person. in an unusual statement on friday, the office of the director of national intelligence explained the changing description of the events of the attack, quote, in the immediate aftermath, there was information that led us to aseventy that the attack began spontaneously following protests earlier that day at our embassy in cairo. as we learned more about the attack, we revised our initial assessment to reflect new information indicating that it was a deliberate and organized terrorist attack carried out by extremists. the administrations appeared to slow walk, calling the libya attack terrorism. the president's aitd said intelligence had changed. >> that was preposterous. this president's record on terrorism takes a back seat to no one. >> i was kind of shocked to see representative king attack ambassador rice for what she said last sunday here because she was acting on the intelligence that was given to her by the intelligence community. >> as you can see and you heard it from david plouffe, he used the phrase "intelligence community" i think some six or seven times, seemed to put eight the hands of the intelligence kmunl community and then said there's not a problem with the community by the way. this morning american cross roads is out with a tough new internet video. take a look. >> what did president obama do the same day of a terror attack on american citizens? he campaigned in las vegas. then at the annual u.n. meeting where rogue nations are calling for a new world order, obama snubbed key allies and skipped meetings with world leaders so he could be on tv. >> so how much of the campaign is this going to be? the romney campaign is debating how forcefully to engage the libya issue. some are advising it's good to use as a stand-in for overall failures of the president. romney tries to do that in a wall street op-ed writing disturbing developments are sweeping across the greater middle east, these developments are not, as president obama says, mere bumps in the road. they are major issues that put our security at risk. yet amid this upheaval, our country seems to be at the mercy. >> the response was slow, it was confused. it was inconsistent. they first said it was a youtube video and a spontaneous mob. we now know it was a planned terrorist attack. if this was one tragic incident, that would be a tragedy in and of itself. the problem is it's part of bagger picture of the fact that the obama foreign policy is unraveling lit literally before our eyes an on tvs. >> perhaps it's too rich of a debate target for romney to try not to bring up. that said, and by the way, here's another aspect of this. do you do an op-ed in "the wall street journal" 48 hours before the debate that's supposed to be all about the economy if you don't intent to bring this up? it's either a subtle message to the moderator or a warning that he's going to bring this up if the moderator doesn't. the last time we heard from the supreme court we got a little rule being about some little issue having to do with the president and his health care law. you might remember it. today the court begins a new term and it could bring more high-profile rulings on issues from affirmative action to gay marriages. pete is at the supreme court. well, look. it's going to be some landmark decisions. it seems they're coming down in the way the court is signaling in the cases it took. is that a fair way to interpret all this, pete? >> so far it's taken one case on affirmative action, chuck. it's a big case. a challenge by a white student to the universities consideration of race in rounding out the freshman class. the last time the supreme court looked aet this nine years ago, it upheld the affirmative action. that was written by sandra day o'connor. she's left. alito has taken over. the requirement that in states that have a history of racial discrimination, that they have to get federal permission before they make any changes in their elections. it's widely expected the court will grant that kay. feeble the regulation for same-sex marriage. the court hasn't decided this act yet either. it's with a virtual certainty the court will take it. this is the defensive marriage act signed by president clinton. it says for federal recognition, the marriages are only between men and women. the question is it fair, constitutional or discriminatory against gay couples. if it strikes it down, i doesn't say that states have to recognize gay marriages but where gay marriages have taken place, they have to uphold that. >> when will be we hear the arguments on it? >> october 10th. it's challenged by this white student, gable fisher from texas. the university has an interesting program, chuck. it grants admission automatic will toy the university of texas in austen for the top 10% of every high school class. the whole goal is racial diversity. that gets them some diversity. the question is whether they can take the extra tell to round out the race of the other applicants. >> it means it happens before the election, not the decision, and the argument and it means it will at least get into the presidential debate. pete williams. it's october 1st. where else is he going to be. up next, florida, florida, florida. it's a state with an inauspicious history when it comes to ballots. governor charlie crist will join me next. plus, the united states relationship in the middle east are being tested. we have reporters on the ground across the region. but first a look ahead at the schedule of president obama and mitt romney. president obama in las vegas. don't be surprised if you see him. he has no public events but bet we see him go get a hamburger or something and mitt romney has rally tonight when he gets to denver. that's where we're going to be tonight. you're watch dnd only on nbc. overmany discounts to thine customers! 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