i would much prefer to talk about paul simon, but we ll do that next hour. with you let s talk first about the debate that s coming up next wednesday in denver. we re less than a week out from it. mitt romney has to laser focus, one conservative after another going out there, telling him, stop being distracted. have a laser focus on the economy. i want to read you what daniel henninger wrote today in the wall street journal. he said stupid in the famous quotation from 1992 s clinton versus bush campaign, it s the economy, stupid. whoever thinks a u.s. presidential election is about something else. all presidential elections are about the economy. yes, there are other issues, but it s also true that a whale has pilot fish. still, most politicians would rather talk about anything but the economy, and the man we re looking at right there, mitt romney, seems to be exhibit 1 in daniel henninger s argument.
did you ever imagine what could make you better would come from the sea? not at all. i spent most of my life swimming in the ocean, but i didn t assume it would have anything to do with my cancer. without the reef and doing that conservation, we have no starting point. dr. edwards developed new drugs at esan, a lab that developments halavan, a drug that was recently approved for late-stage breast cancer. a japanese scientist discovered it in a pacific ocean sea sponge. in order to make this drug by synthesis, we would require over 60 steps. the typical drug is about ten steps or less. scientists need just a small sample from the reef to unlock the mysteries, but they do need the reefs. it s like the new york city of the ocean, where everything is happening, hustle, bustle, neon lights. a small contribution that could make the big difference for the oceans and mankind. anne thompson, nbc news, key west. that s our broadcast on a thursday night. thank you for being here w