On the Trail: Ready to Rumble

Obama and Romney prepare for their first face-off.

The Latest News and Quotes From the Campaign Trail - President Obama and Republican Mitt Romney will come face to face on Oct. 3 for the first of their three debates. Some, like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, are saying Romney will trounce Obama, while vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan says the debate won't make or break the campaign. Like Ryan, the president has also lowered expectations by giving his opponent props as a better debater. – Joyce Jones (Photos from left: Win McNamee/Getty Images, Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

1 / 12

The Latest News and Quotes From the Campaign Trail - President Obama and Republican Mitt Romney will come face to face on Oct. 3 for the first of their three debates. Some, like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, are saying Romney will trounce Obama, while vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan says the debate won't make or break the campaign. Like Ryan, the president has also lowered expectations by giving his opponent props as a better debater. – Joyce Jones (Photos from left: Win McNamee/Getty Images, Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Very Pleased to Meet You - Marty Arps, 20, the manager of a Denver Chipotle restaurant was really excited to meet Romney and has since become an Internet sensation because of his wide-eyed pose with the Republican presidential candidate. (Photo: AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) 

2 / 12

Very Pleased to Meet You - Marty Arps, 20, the manager of a Denver Chipotle restaurant was really excited to meet Romney and has since become an Internet sensation because of his wide-eyed pose with the Republican presidential candidate. (Photo: AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) 

Crack Wisdom - MSNBC host Chris Hayes evoked the Notorious B.I.G.'s "The 10 Crack Commandments" in response to Republicans questioning the credibility of polls showing Romney trailing: Never get high on your own supply. "The GOP has lost sight of this simple wisdom. They are now smoking what they're dealing," he said. (Photo: MSNBC)

3 / 12

Crack Wisdom - MSNBC host Chris Hayes evoked the Notorious B.I.G.'s "The 10 Crack Commandments" in response to Republicans questioning the credibility of polls showing Romney trailing: Never get high on your own supply. "The GOP has lost sight of this simple wisdom. They are now smoking what they're dealing," he said. (Photo: MSNBC)

Owning It - In an NBC News interview, Romney pointed to the health care law he shepherded as governor of Massachusetts as proof that he's empathetic and cares about the now-infamous 47 percent. "I got everybody in my state insured," he said. "I don't think there's anything that shows more empathy and care about the people of this country than that kind of record." (Photo: NBC News)

4 / 12

Owning It - In an NBC News interview, Romney pointed to the health care law he shepherded as governor of Massachusetts as proof that he's empathetic and cares about the now-infamous 47 percent. "I got everybody in my state insured," he said. "I don't think there's anything that shows more empathy and care about the people of this country than that kind of record." (Photo: NBC News)

Media Bias - Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Romney has the answer for why he and Romney aren't doing well in polls — media bias. In an interview on Fox News Sunday, he declined to provide examples but said, “I think it kind of goes without saying that there is definitely a media bias," adding that he expected it to happen. (Photo: FOX News)

5 / 12

Media Bias - Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Romney has the answer for why he and Romney aren't doing well in polls — media bias. In an interview on Fox News Sunday, he declined to provide examples but said, “I think it kind of goes without saying that there is definitely a media bias," adding that he expected it to happen. (Photo: FOX News)

ADVERTISEMENT
Ann Romney - "I think my biggest concern obviously would just be for his mental well-being," said Ann Romney in an interview with KTVN News on the prospect of her husband becoming president. "I have all the confidence in the world in his ability, in his decisiveness, in his leadership skills, in his understanding of the economy.... So for me I think it would just be the emotional part of it." (Photo: KTVN News)

6 / 12

Ann Romney - "I think my biggest concern obviously would just be for his mental well-being," said Ann Romney in an interview with KTVN News on the prospect of her husband becoming president. "I have all the confidence in the world in his ability, in his decisiveness, in his leadership skills, in his understanding of the economy.... So for me I think it would just be the emotional part of it." (Photo: KTVN News)

Unfriendly Fire - The Obama campaign is deploying a group of Massachusetts Democratic elected officials, current and former, to the battlegrounds to warn them not to repeat their mistake by electing Romney. “A lot of people in my family voted for Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney was an impressive candidate for governor,” Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone told The Boston Globe. “But he didn’t deliver.” (Photo: CBS News)

7 / 12

Unfriendly Fire - The Obama campaign is deploying a group of Massachusetts Democratic elected officials, current and former, to the battlegrounds to warn them not to repeat their mistake by electing Romney. “A lot of people in my family voted for Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney was an impressive candidate for governor,” Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone told The Boston Globe. “But he didn’t deliver.” (Photo: CBS News)

Barack Obama - "Gov. Romney, he is a good debater. I'm OK," Obama told supporters at a campaign rally in Nevada Sunday. (Photo: John Gurzinski/Getty Images)

8 / 12

Barack Obama - "Gov. Romney, he is a good debater. I'm OK," Obama told supporters at a campaign rally in Nevada Sunday. (Photo: John Gurzinski/Getty Images)

Keeping Hope Alive - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is predicting that this week's first presidential debate will be a game changer for Romney. "Wednesday night is the restart of this campaign, and I think you're going to see those numbers start to move right back in the other direction,” he said Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press. (Photo: NBC News)

9 / 12

Keeping Hope Alive - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is predicting that this week's first presidential debate will be a game changer for Romney. "Wednesday night is the restart of this campaign, and I think you're going to see those numbers start to move right back in the other direction,” he said Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press. (Photo: NBC News)

Lower Expectations - "I don’t think one event is going to make or break this campaign. Look, President Obama is a very — he’s a very gifted speaker. The man’s been on the national stage for many years, he’s an experienced debater, he’s done these kinds of debates before. This is Mitt’s first time on this kind of a stage," said Ryan on Fox News Sunday. (Photo: Fox News)

10 / 12

Lower Expectations - "I don’t think one event is going to make or break this campaign. Look, President Obama is a very — he’s a very gifted speaker. The man’s been on the national stage for many years, he’s an experienced debater, he’s done these kinds of debates before. This is Mitt’s first time on this kind of a stage," said Ryan on Fox News Sunday. (Photo: Fox News)

ADVERTISEMENT
Take That! - The most interesting debates to watch often are those with the best one-liners. Team Romney, hoping to win that category, has armed its candidate with a series of "zingers" he's been practicing, with the goal of "luring the president into appearing smug or evasive about his responsibility for the economy." (Photo: John Moore/Getty Images)

11 / 12

Take That! - The most interesting debates to watch often are those with the best one-liners. Team Romney, hoping to win that category, has armed its candidate with a series of "zingers" he's been practicing, with the goal of "luring the president into appearing smug or evasive about his responsibility for the economy." (Photo: John Moore/Getty Images)

With Friends Like Chavez ... - Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, who once called President George W. Bush a "devil" and Obama a disappointment, has had a change of heart. "In the point of view of his politics, if I were voting, I would vote for Obama and I believe that if Obama was from Caracas, he would vote for Chavez, I am positive," he now says. (Photo:  REUTERS/Isaac Urrutia)

12 / 12

With Friends Like Chavez ... - Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, who once called President George W. Bush a "devil" and Obama a disappointment, has had a change of heart. "In the point of view of his politics, if I were voting, I would vote for Obama and I believe that if Obama was from Caracas, he would vote for Chavez, I am positive," he now says. (Photo:  REUTERS/Isaac Urrutia)