as you know, this president has been described as long-winded at times. campaign officials feel as though that s not conducive to having a successful debate performance. so they re trying to encourage him to give shorter, crisper answers to make sure his key points don t get lost on wednesday night. as i said, both sides are trying to tamp down expectations. we cannot overstate that. they are really keeping praise on one another. there s really a lot at stake on wednesday night. mitt romney trying to reinvigorate, trying to turn his campaign around. president obama really trying to build on some of the momentum that he has seen in recent days. of course, we ve seen him pull ahead in the national polls but also in some of the key battleground states. he s hoping to hold on to his lead and build on that momentum. kristen welker with the president in las vegas. thank you so much. appreciate that. reporter: thanks, craig. i want to bring back our brain trust here.