Michele Bachmann was the Laura Ingraham Show Friday where she said China has "blinded the United States satellites with their lasers."

"I'm not sharing something I shouldn't, but China has blinded United States satellites with their lasers," said Bachmann, who reiterated that she sits on the House Intelligence Commitee. "They've also supplied arms to the Taliban, and they've helped North Korea deliver missiles to Iran and Pakistan. And they've assisted Iran with their nuclear program."

She also mentioned China's "cyber attacks"on the U.S. and "currency manipulation."

"China has widespread intellectual property theft of United States intellectual property," she said. "Don't forget that. They've also been engaged in industrial espionage against the West as well. And they actively have engaged in cyber attacks both on our military and on our commercial companies."

Alex Moe/NBC News

Newt Gingrich inside Iowa State University's Virtual Reality Applications Center.

AMES, Iowa -- Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich stepped inside the world’s highest resolution virtual reality room at Iowa State University this afternoon.

The former house Speaker, sporting 3D glasses and cloth shoes, experienced the virtual world while learning about the carrier application (built for Boeing) and a galaxy application. Inside ISU’s Virtual Reality Applications Center’s (VRAC) C6 Cave, images are projected on all walls, the ceiling, and the floor for the participants.

“This has been great. I always learn stuff when I come here,” Gingrich told those showing him around the VRAC.

It was fitting that Gingrich visited the C6 Cave because he came to speak at the university to highlight the importance of creating jobs in science and technology – one of the 10-points in his new "21st Century Contract with America" he released yesterday in Des Moines.

“My campaign is a cultural one with a political component,” Gingrich told the more than 100 people who gathered to hear him speak inside the school’s student union.
 
The Speaker talked about the importance of investing in brain science and the rising costs of treating Alzheimer’s patients.

“I'm proposing three steps here to dramatically accelerate brain science,” he said before continuing to list the steps he will take -- eliminate the capital gains tax, fundamentally change the FDA, and build a new brain science program.

Gingrich promised to host more of these town hall style meetings about science and technology as the campaign moves forward.

Speaking the same day the third fundraising quarter closes, Gingrich mentioned towards the end of his speech that he does not have the money to compete with rivals Rick Perry and Mitt Romney.

“But,” the Speaker told those in attendance, “if I come in first or second in Iowa and can go on to New Hampshire and come in first or second and then get to South Carolina, I think I will be the nominee.”

Thanks for the comments. No worries, The Week Ahead will be back next week.

In the meantime, keep your eyes and ears open for good, clean political comedy and pitch it in the comments here for our ending bit next week.

Contrary to a report out today, a top HuckPAC official tells First Read, "There is no truth to the rumors" that former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is reconsidering a run for president.

"The governor is still content with his decision to stay out of the race," the official said.

A Reuters report contended Huckabee hasn't shut the door on running. The source says it is true that Republicans have reached out to him to reconsider -- something the source says is not new. But Huckabee has not changed his mind.

Another Huckabee source also tells NBC's Andrew Rafferty, "There are people asking him to reconsider, but that is not something he is doing right now."

The rumors about Huckabee are the latest to surface following stumbles by Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry in recent weeks -- and the continued lack of enthusiasm for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Romney, by the way, will appear as a guest this weekend on Huckabee's FOX show.

DODGE, Iowa -- Newt Gingrich now says the reason to vote for him over his rivals -- he smarter.

“I’m not running against any of my friends, they’re all good people," Gingrich said at a breakfast at the Best Western here. "But if you watch them and watch me, the difference in the depth of knowledge and the difference in the ability to debate Obama, the difference in actually having done it at the national level, I can’t only think if you’re worried about the future of the country and you’re worried about how we get the country fixed, I’m a pretty good mechanic who knows how to fix the car and the other folks are good at selling it.

"They’re nice people, but they don’t have the knowledge to do something like this on this scale. This is enormously complicated.”

A day after Gingrich unveiled his 10-point new “Contract with America,” he again went point-by-point on his plan -- and again apologized for taking so long to describe it, but “it took so long to put together,” he said.

Gingrich also claimed that he has been studying how to make the U.S. better since he was a freshman or sophomore in high school.

Speaking about Social Security, Gingrich said he wants Americans to have the option of choosing their own, private Social Security account.

“Grandchildren should have right to choose Social Security account they control, it has to be there, we’re going to do a commercial showing President Obama in July saying twice you’re not going to get your social security check," Gingrich said. "Send it to college campuses and say do you want to spend the next 50 years of your life working and paying taxes supposedly building up for retirement when any politician can be this irresponsible? Or would you rather have an account you control so a politician can’t do that do your money.  … I’m not going to force them into this system, they have the option, very few people will stay in it if they’re 25 or 30, and think it won’t be there. … If you have this account we don’t have a set date when you have to retire. Fact is, if you have this account and you control it and want to work until you are 85, fine. If you want to retire at 50, fine. What do we care? It’s your life, it’s your money.

Gingrich also pointed to the black community as being most disadvantaged with the current Social Security system. “Sadly most African Americans are the most disadvantaged because they die the youngest so they pay their whole lifetime and it transfers to somebody else because it’s not an estate.”

Speaking about fraud in the federal government, Gingrich said Visa, MasterCard and American Express do a better job preventing fraud than the U.S. government. And claimed as President, he would have the borders controlled by January 1, 2014. 

At the beginning of a speech to praise Adm. Mike Mullen as he stepped down as chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff -- and to welcome the new chair, Gen. Martin Dempsey -- President Obama addressed the death of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) operative Anwar al-Awlaki.

“The death of Awlaki is a major blow to Al Qaeda's most active operational affiliate,” Obama said.

As was reported earlier today, an American drone launched an airstrike in Yemen against an Al Qaeda convoy that included Awlaki. Multiple U.S. government sources and the government of Yemen confirmed that Awlaki was killed.

In his remarks, the president blamed Awlaki and AQAP not only for multiple attempts to kill Americans inside and outside of the United States, but also the deaths of many in Yemen.

“Awlaki and his organization have been directly responsible for the deaths of many Yemenis citizens. His hateful ideology and targeting of innocent civilians has been rejected by the vast majority of Muslims and people of all faiths,” he said. 

Obama reminded his audience, “Al Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula remains a dangerous, though weakened, terrorist organization. And going forward, we will remain vigilant against any threats to the United States or our allies or partners.” 

He continued, “Make no mistake: This is further proof that Al Qaeda and its affiliates will find no safe haven anywhere in the world.”

Mullen, in his last speech as chairman of the Joint Chiefs struck a lighter tone when alluding to the operation, “And to those of you who aren't the closest to us, well, maybe you should have stepped it up a notch. It doesn't hurt to have friends with access to drones.”

But Mullen backed up Obama's assessment of a weakened Al Qaeda network. “President Obama made it clear from the beginning that he valued military counsel and that protecting the American people was his top priority, and he's made good on both promises. Bin Laden is dead; Awlaki is dead; Al Qaeda is a much- diminished network.”

Awlaki is credited with being the mastermind behind the failed attempts to blow up an American passenger plane on Christmas day of 2009 and a vehicle in Times Square in 2010.

Is it legal for the federal government to kill a U.S. citizen overseas, someone who has never been charged or convicted of a crime? Civil liberties groups are condemning the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, but many legal scholars say it is fully justified.

No U.S. court has ever weighed in on the question, because judges consider these sorts of issues exclusively matters for the president. 

Anwar al-Awlaki's father, Nasser, with the help of the ACLU, sued President Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and CIA Director Leon Panetta a year ago, when it became clear that the U.S. was targeting al-Awlaki. But Judge John Bates threw the case out, ruling that federal courts were in no position to evaluate whether someone was a terrorist whose activities threatened national security and against whom deadly force could be justified.

The ACLU lawyer who handled the case, Jameel Jaffer, said Friday the killing of al-Awlaki was a violation of both U.S. and international law.

"The government's authority to use lethal force against its own citizens should be limited to circumstances in which the threat to life is concrete, specific and imminent," Jaffer said. "It is a mistake to invest the president, any president, with the unreviewable power to kill any American whom he deems to present a threat to the country."

But Kenneth Anderson, an international law scholar at American University's Washington College of Law, said U.S. citizens, who take up arms with an enemy force, have been considered legitimate targets through two world wars, even if they are outside what is traditionally considered the battlefield.

"Where hostiles go, there is the possibility of hostilities," Anderson said. "The U.S. has never accepted the proposition that if you leave the active battlefield, suddenly you are no longer targetable."

Robert Chesney, an expert on international law at the University of Texas School of law, concluded in a recently written law review article that al-Awlaki could be legally killed "if he is in fact an operational leader within AQAP, as this role would render him a functional combatant in an organized armed group."

COLUMBIA, SC – Ann Romney made her husband Mitt’s candidacy in South Carolina official today, handing his filing papers and a check for the $35 thousand filing fee to state Republican Party chairman Chad Connelly.  

She said that her husband would now be “actively campaigning” in the state (although candidates don’t need to have submitted papers to campaign here) and that they are “encouraged” by the support they’ve received in the state. 

She also commented on the state’s primary date. At that point this morning, Florida had not yet officially announced that it would hold its election on January 31st. 

“[The date] looks like it’s going to be moved up a little bit, everyone’s wondering when this state will be going, we don’t know that yet,” she said.

Connelly indirectly referred, as he has before, to the “drama” of states moving their primary dates up.“Our narrative needs to be that we need to make sure that Barack Obama is just the worst one-term president ever, and nothing else, no other drama needs to be involved,” he said.

Romney refused to take questions from the press, as her staff ushered her out of the conference room where the event was held. Just before the event, Romney spoke to a group of about 35 at a private fundraising breakfast for the South Carolina Republican Party. 

Florida moved up its primary date to Jan. 31 today, breaking national party rules and setting off a domino effect that likely means the beginning of the GOP presidential nominating process will be in early January 2012.

In a 7-2 vote, the Florida Primary Selection Committee decided to move up its date.

The first domino fell in New Hampshire, traditionally the first primary in the nation, preceded only by Iowa’s caucuses.

New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner, who has unilateral control to set the Granite State’s date, moved up the presidential primary filing period to begin Oct. 17 and ending October 28, signaling the New Hampshire primary contest will be moved up in the calendar.

"Unfortunately, we'll be unable to have the upcoming presidential primary on the second Tuesday in March and will continue to honor the tradition of our first-in-the-nation presidential primary," Gardner told NBC News. "Because we cannot rule out of the possibility of conducting the primary before the end of this year, we are, regrettably, as we were four years ago, forced to move the presidential candidates filing period to October.”

Gardner watched the full Florida committee debate via a website in his Statehouse chambers and was visibly surprised as the members in the Sunshine State discussed going so early as Jan. 3rd.

"I don't know how I can be surprised by anything anymore,” said Gardner, who’s been setting the primary date since 1976, “so we will wait and see on the rest. We will continue to be first. … It is my intention to move the primary up so we preserve the tradition."

Gardner is watching South Carolina and Nevada closely and will set the date after they have announced.

South Carolina will also not be announcing its primary date today and probably won’t until next week, according to Matt Moore, the South Carolina GOP’s executive director.

South Carolina, along with the other carve-out states, will wait until all other non-carve-out states’ primaries are set before announcing its own, Moore said. And if New Hampshire is waiting until later in the fall, the same is true for the Palmetto State.

"We want to make sure that the four early states are playing from the same sheet of music," Moore told NBC.

Moore also said that party is not ruling out announcing a Tuesday election instead of a Saturday election. Connelly said yesterday that he was leaning toward holding the election the Saturday before Florida’s election (four days before), but Moore said holding the election on a Tuesday would be cheaper (no overtime costs for keeping schools, etc., open) and that having adequate time between their primary and Florida’s is a concern.

Iowa’s Republican Party Chairman says the Hawkeye State will wait on Gardner and New Hampshire.

"Only Secretary of State Gardner has that authority in New Hampshire,” Matt Strawn tells NBC News in an email. “Once he sets the date for New Hampshire's primary, Iowa will then act accordingly and set the date of our First in the Nation Caucuses."

*** UPDATE *** A South Carolina source says the four early states are working together, and they will likely announce their dates jointly. Gardner is in close contact with his counterpart in Nevada's, talking almost daily lately.

*** UPDATE 2 *** Here's the statement from the Florida GOP:

"Today, under the authority provided them by Florida statute and their selection by Governor Scott, Speaker Cannon and Senate President Haridopolos, the nine members of the Presidential Preference Primary Date Selection Committee chose January 31st as our state’s date. As I have said before, the Republican Party of Florida was always prepared to work with the date selected by those with the legal authority to do so. We appreciate that the Committee engaged in a thorough process. That process included discussion of a range of dates from January 3rd to March 6th or later, so this compromise of January 31st  properly reflects the importance Florida will play on the national stage. We look forward to having a great primary, and then hosting a world-class convention for our party’s nominee. Florida will be the most important state in our efforts to defeat Barack Obama."

*** UPDATE 3 *** South Carolina GOP Chairman Chad Connelly condemned Florida's move:

"Today's decision by Florida is hugely disappointing and could have been avoided. Rogue states have once again dictated the Presidential nominating calendar. I call on my fellow RNC members and all Republicans to strongly condemn Florida's decision to hold their primary on January 31. States who have worked so hard to maintain the nominating calendar should not be penalized and the offenders, including Florida, should lose their entire allocations of delegates at the National Convention. Rules matter and the four traditional early states (Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina) did everything they could to avoid this unfortunate situation. South Carolina's primary date will not be announced today."

AP

An “undercover” First Lady Michelle Obama donned a baseball cap and sunglasses and went shopping at an Alexandria, VA Target store yesterday afternoon.

Store manager Maria Panagopulos, who was working during Mrs. Obama’s visit, said the dressed-down first lady spent about 20 minutes shopping. The first daughters were not with her (so maybe they’ll find a new Missoni rain boot in their rooms).

Officials in the first lady’s office say they don’t provide details about her personal life or what she bought. But they released this written statement: “It is not uncommon for the first lady to slip out to run an errand, eat at a local restaurant or otherwise enjoy the city outside the White House gates.”

The first lady checked out carrying several bags at about 3:30 pm ET. Panagopulos says they get a lot of famous people at the Alexandria Target, but this was “exciting.” 

By NBC's Carrie Dann

ATLANTA -- In his first public appearance since the weekend of his disappointing loss in the Florida straw poll, Gov. Rick Perry issued a broad attack on competitor Mitt Romney, reminding an audience of Georgia state lawmakers and conservative policy gurus of Romney's record on health care.

"As Republican voters decide who is best suited to lead this country in a new direction by stopping the spending spree and scrapping Obamacare, I am confident they will choose a nominee who has governed on conservative principles, not one whose healthcare policies paved the way for Obamacare, a path blazed with higher premium costs and thousands of lost jobs," he said.

In what his campaign billed as a policy speech to the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, which advertises being "the only free-market think tank in Georgia," Perry tied Romney to the Obama administration's health care and environmental policies. He noted that Massachusetts instituted both the Romney-signed individual mandate and cap-and-trade legislation.

"I knew when I got into this race I would have my hands full fighting President Obama’s big government agenda," he said. "I just didn’t think it would be in the Republican Primary."

Focusing on his economic record in Texas, the governor also lauded other states without individual income taxes. "Keep your taxes low. A personal income tax of zero is good," he said to applause. "Zero is good unless you're talking about job creation."

Perry, whose first fundraising haul will be closely watched as a barometer of his campaign, hinted at some of the items in his own record that have prompted cooling of his support among conservatives.

“I have a lengthy record, and it sometimes ruffles people's feathers," he said. "But sometimes you have to shake up the system.”

While much of his speech consisted of a litany of complaints against the Obama administration, Perry opened his remarks with kind words for the White House and the military for the death of al Qaeda operative Anwar Al-Alwaki

"I want to take a moment to congratulate the United State military and our intelligence community and President Obama for sticking with government's long-standing and aggressive anti-terror policies for getting another key terrorist, international terrorist I might add, in the death of this American-raised Al Qaeda leader Anwar al Awlaki."

"His death will be quite a serious setback for that organization," he said.

*** UPDATE *** The Romney camp responds to First Read: "Romney never entered in to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative while he was governor. His Democrat successor Deval Patrick did."

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- While it doesn’t receive the early attention that Iowa and New Hampshire get in presidential primary politics, South Carolina holds this important distinction: its winner has gone on to capture every Republican nomination since 1980.

The most recent Winthrop University poll, released less than two weeks ago, showed Texas Gov. Rick Perry leading with 31% and Mitt Romney a close second with 27.5%.

That might be surprising to some, who see South Carolina as not much more than a socially conservative state. But understanding the different kinds of conservatives who live here -- whether in the Upstate (dominated by social conservatives), the Midlands (the Republican power center with its mix of establishment Republicans and military voters), and Lowcountry (with its strong military presence and fiscally minded Northern transplants on the coast) -- are key to winning the Palmetto State’s GOP presidential primary.

“South Carolina is not a monolithic place,” said Mark Tompkins, a political science professor at the University of South Carolina. “It’s conservative for sure, but there are all these different strains of conservatism.”

As candidates try to outdo each other’s conservative credentials here, the 2008 South Carolina primary election serves as a reminder that it’s not always the most conservative candidate who wins the state.

“It helps to be able to appeal everywhere,” said Warren Tompkins, a longtime presidential campaign adviser, who is not affiliated with a candidate this cycle (and is no relation to the aforementioned Mark). “And, generally, whoever gets the plurality runs fairly decently across the board.”

Not always the most conservative candidate who wins
When John McCain won in 2008, he did so with just 33% of the vote -- and with a little help from Fred Thompson. McCain, a war hero, was able to dominate in the Midlands and Lowcountry.

Mike Huckabee, who finished second with 30%, won the biggest share of the state’s self-declared evangelical voters, which made up 60% of voters in 2008, according to exit polls, but Thompson siphoned off a crucial 15% of those voters -- and split the vote with Huckabee in the Upstate counties. Huckabee’s campaign argued at the time that Thompson’s 16% overall finish likely cost Huckabee the election.

“We got awful close,” Huckabee said in 2008 after the results were finalized.

The Upstate: Where God and country matter
It comes as no surprise that Huckabee, a former Baptist minister, was able to sell a Christian conservative message in the heavily evangelical Upstate. The region is home to Bob Jones University, which calls itself “the foremost fundamental Christian University.”

The Upstate’s focus on social issues was evident when Perry campaigned there recently. A woman congratulated him for saying evolution was a theory. “Well, God is how we got here,” Perry responded.

Romney, who finished fourth in South Carolina in 2008 with 15%, has largely kept his distance from the area. His religion -- he’s Mormon -- was a hurdle, especially in the Upstate, where he received as little as 8% in some counties. It remains to be seen if he rethinks sidestepping the state, given his standing in the Winthrop poll and Perry’s recent stumbles.

The Upstate isn’t just a key place for candidates to burnish their socially conservative credentials. It also contains some of the most voter-rich counties in the state. Republican consultant Chip Felkel, who worked on both of George W. Bush’s campaigns, pointed out that 52 percent of the 2008 primary vote came from seven counties – three of which are located in the region, including Greenville, which had the highest overall turnout.

In order to win in South Carolina, “you don’t necessarily have to be ardent on the social issues like a [Rick] Santorum, but you have to have bona fides on the social issues in order to take care of those votes in the Upstate,” said Felkel, who is unaffiliated but would have worked for Haley Barbour if he had decided to run.

The region has also always been a business hub for the state, first with tobacco farming, then textiles, and now through companies like BMW, whose only American factory is in Spartanburg. That environment breeds a sort of libertarianism, inherited from farmers who were wary of, as Mark Tompkins put it, “pointy-headed bureaucrats in Washington telling us we have to do all these things about tobacco.” That fits well with the present-day Tea Party.

The Midlands: A GOP establishment power center
In addition to dominating in the Lowcountry, McCain made up for his shortcomings in the Upstate also by almost sweeping the Midlands, an area Mark Tompkins describes as a “melting pot.” It has a strong military presence, including Shaw Air Force Base and Fort Jackson, the Army’s largest basic training center, helping McCain win nine of the area’s 10 counties.

The Midlands is also home to the state’s capital city, Columbia, as well as the University of South Carolina, the flagship institution of the state’s college system. Columbia is also a stronghold for African-American Democrats. Black voters make up more than half of Democratic primary voters, and churches here were must-stops in 2008 for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, who drew huge crowds. Two historically black colleges, Allen University and Benedict College, are also located in the capital city.

The Lowcountry: Beach, business, and the military
The Lowcountry has experienced an influx of Northerners -- largely retirees attracted to South Carolina’s home prices. For example, the population of Beaufort County, which includes the beach community of Hilton Head, surged by 34% over the past 10 years, according to the 2010 Census. Mark Tompkins characterized Lowcountry political strain as “business conservatism,” bolstered by “a bunch of rich Yankees in retirement homes.

As in the Midlands, the military has a big presence in the Lowcountry, with Air Force and Coast Guard bases, a Marine Corps Air Station and the Parris Island Marine Corps training grounds. That combination of military and older, more moderate voters helped McCain win six of the eight counties associated with the region.

Romney finished second in two of the counties, Beaufort and Charleston. His most recent of his infrequent trips to the Palmetto state this cycle took him, in fact, to Charleston. Charleston is also the home of a new Boeing plant, the subject of a National Labor Relations Board lawsuit alleging Boeing built the plant here in order to punish striking union workers in Washington State. Like all Republican candidates looking to curry favor with leaders in this non-union state, Romney railed against President Obama’s NLRB appointments, calling them “an egregious example of political payback.”

This time around, the region could be up for grabs -- if Romney decides to play in the state. He has the business experience, but Perry’s military experience (and Romney’s lack of it) is a hurdle.

The numbers coming out of the state are still “very fluid” and decisions about allocating resources in South Carolina and other primary states are ongoing, said Kevin Madden, an informal Romney adviser, who served as his 2008 communications director.

But, Madden added, “Rick Perry’s meltdown with conservatives around the immigration issue has hurt him there, and his positioning on Social Security is devastating with older voters and retirees. All of that makes it a competitive race.”

Romney will make more stops in South Carolina, but don't expect him to campaign here very heavily. Florida's primary is likely to be held just days later, and because of early voting, it's possible that as much as half of Florida's vote could be in by the time South Carolina's primary takes place.

The temptation to play here could also be a trap. Felkel believes Perry has the best chance to garner majorities from all corners of the South Carolina map.

“The state is tailor-made for Rick Perry,” Felkel said. “Because he gets the business community; he’s got military background, social conservatives like him, and he’s got that independent streak that Carolinians seem to like. Case in point, John McCain.”

NBC's Domenico Montanaro contributed reporting to this story. 

MANCHESTER NH -- Ron Paul aggressively criticized President Obama today for al-Awlaki's death.

"No I don't think that's a good way to deal with our problems," Paul said in a media avail after his remarks at the Politics + Eggs event here. "He was born here, Al-Awlaki was born here, he is an American citizen. He was never tried or charged for any crimes. No one knows if he killed anybody. We know he might have been associated with the underwear bomber. But if the American people accept this blindly and casually that we now have an accepted practice of the president assassinating people who he thinks are bad guys, I think it's sad.

"I think what would people ... have said about Timothy McVeigh? We didn't assassinate him, who certainly he had done it. Went and put through the courts then executed him. To start assassinating American citizens without charges, we should think very seriously about this."

Does he feel the same about Bin Laden? "

Not exactly. "Because he was involved in 9/11 and I voted for authority to go after those individuals responsible for 9/11," Paul said. "Al-Awlaki nobody ever suggested that he was participant in 9/11."

Perry in need in a strong 3^rd quarter boost… Expect the Romney and Obama hauls to be smaller than last quarter… Another foreign-policy success, another yawn from the American public?... Chris Christie buzz continues… Calendar chaos: We’ll find out what Florida does today… Perry to hit Romney in 10:15 am speech from Georgia… Cain’s missed opportunity… Newt criticizes reporter for asking legitimate question… DNC airs new Spanish-language ad… And Trumka speaks at Brookings.

*** Needing a boost: With the 3^rd fundraising quarter ending today, all eyes are on Rick Perry's first finance numbers. It's been a rough couple of weeks for the Texas governor, but a strong fundraising showing -- say in the neighborhood of $15 million since announcing his bid in mid-August -- would give him a much-needed boost and would solidify his chances of competing financially with Mitt Romney (who raised $18 million last quarter). More than that amount would signal some SERIOUS fundraising chops for Perry, while less than that would be considered trouble for him. Back in June, Tim Pawlenty had a rough debate performance and followed up with a poor fundraising number ($4 million-plus). The question for Perry: Can he post a total that doesn't draw any comparisons to Pawlenty? Right now, Perry World is simply promising more than $10 million.

*** Expect the Romney and Obama hauls to be smaller than last quarter: Besides Perry, the other big players are expected to post fundraising numbers less than what they raised in the 2^nd quarter. It's not surprising, after all: In 2007, most of the major candidates (Obama, Romney, and McCain) had lower numbers in the 3rd quarter, which includes the usually slow month of August. (An exception was George W. Bush, who raised $50 million in the 3^rd quarter of '03.) Per the Boston Globe, Romney's camp “is on pace to raise between $11 million and $13 million” (down from $18 million last quarter). The campaign would not confirm those figures to First Read, saying: “We are going to raise considerably less than what we did in our first reporting period, but we will still meet our finance goals for this quarter.” Meanwhile, Obama's re-election campaign says it's expected raise a combined $55 million for the campaign and the DNC -- less than the combined $86 million last quarter. One big reason why, per the campaign: Several fundraisers were canceled during the debt-ceiling negotiations.

AP

Republican presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann (MN-6)

*** On the Bachmann, Paul, and Huntsman hauls: As for the rest, Bachmann said yesterday that her campaign “will probably be reporting even more than we have brought in before,” NBC’s Jamie Novogrod reports. (Bachmann raised just more than $4 million last quarter.) But Bachmann’s fundraising costs a lot to maintain (direct mail), and the Iowa Straw Poll was EXPENSIVE for her, so pay attention to her cash on hand. Paul reportedly will bring in $5 million for the 3^rd quarter. And don’t expect a good number from Team Huntsman; there’s a reason why the campaign moved its headquarters from Florida to New Hampshire. Note: The campaigns have until Oct. 15 to file their 3^rd quarter reports to the Federal Election Commission. 

*** Another Obama foreign-policy success, another yawn from the American public? Of course, the biggest news today is the death of Al Qaeda’s Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born preacher, in Yemen. The Obama administration has confirmed al-Awlaki’s death, and NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski reports that it was a U.S. drone that killed him. No president since George H.W. Bush has had more foreign-policy successes happen under his watch than President Obama. The death of bin Laden. The dismantling of al Qaeda. The ouster of Khaddafy. And the end of combat operations in Iraq. Yet when you look at polls and Obama’s approval rating, he’s getting almost no credit from the American public, a la Bush 41. 

*** It’s the economy, stupid: When you ask the public about Obama and foreign policy, he gets good marks. But it’s not front of voters’ minds. In a bad economy, as Bush 41 learned, what happens overseas doesn’t matter. But at the margins, these successes can help the president slowly rebuild his “leadership” scores with the public and certainly they put the Republican presidential candidates in a bit more of a box in their attempts to attack the president on foreign policy. For instance, check out this Michelle Bachmann attack on Obama just yesterday at a fundraiser in NC: “Barack Obama has laid the table for an Arab Spring by demonstrating weakness from the United States of America. The No. 1 duty of the president is to be the commander-in-chief. After the bin Laden and al-Awlaki killings, does that quote even resonate with a majority of Republicans?

*** Christie buzz continues: Back to the GOP presidential race, the Christie buzz continues. Here's the Newark Star Ledger: “Gov. Chris Christie is seriously rethinking his months of denials and may launch a campaign for the White House after all, a source close to the governor said tonight.” The New York Post adds, “After months of hedging, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is giving serious thought to jumping into the ring for a GOP presidential run -- and could make his decision next week.” .But Politico notes the challenge for Christie if he jumps in at this relatively late date. “With the initial primary and caucus states poised to move up their contests to January, an October announcement means that Christie would immediately confront two questions of some urgency: where would he compete and how would he get on the ballot in an array of states coming in rapid succession.”

*** Calendar chaos? Today, we’re supposed to get the official word if Florida is moving up its primary to Jan. 31, which would force Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina to leapfrog into January as well. While Florida has leaned heavily into hinting they’ll go Jan. 31, don’t be surprised if some cooler heads prevail in Florida. There are plenty of Florida Republicans who believe they’ve already established the state as a BIG deal in the primary season, and holding it on Feb. 14, say, instead of Jan. 31, will still guarantee it’s a BIG deal. Bottom line: Jan. 31 is not YET set in stone. But we’ll know soon enough.

*** Perry to hit Romney in speech: At 10:15 am ET, Perry is delivering what his campaign is billing as a policy speech in Georgia. But according to excerpts, NBC’s Carrie Dann reports, the address appears to be an attack on Romney. “As Republican voters decide who is best suited to lead this country in a new direction by stopping the spending spree and scrapping Obamacare … I am confident they will choose a nominee who has governed on conservative principles,” Perry is expected to say. “Not one whose health-care policies paved the way for Obamacare, a path blazed with higher premium costs and thousands of lost jobs.” More Perry: “I have a lengthy record, and it has sometimes ruffled feathers. But sometimes you have to shake up the system.” And: “I knew when I got into this race I would have my hands full fighting President Obama’s big-government agenda; I just didn’t think it would be in the Republican primary.” Meanwhile, the Romney camp has released another Web video hitting Perry on immigration.

AP

Republican presidential candidate businessman Herman Cain

*** Cain’s missed opportunity: So you just won the Florida straw poll, and you’re NOT going to capitalize on it? NBC’s Alex Moe reported yesterday, per an adviser, that Herman Cain is not scheduled to be in Iowa again until Nov. 19. You read that correctly: Cain, fresh off of the best week of his campaign, right now has no plans to be in Iowa again until just before Thanksgiving. His spokeswoman says he’s promoting his book and won’t be back on the campaign trail until mid-October, although he will be speaking tomorrow to the National Federation of GOP Women tomorrow in Kansas City. Wow. That’s not the sign of a serious presidential candidate.

*** You also know you're not a serious presidential candidate if... :  Yesterday, Newt Gingrich criticized a reporter for asking a question about his upcoming fundraising report. “See, I knew you couldn’t resist,” Gingrich said. “I’m not going to answer you. I think you should, you should really go home and think about why you would even ask that today.” Um, the reason why the reporter asked that question is that Sept. 30 is the end of 3^rd fundraising quarter. And, um, today is that day. Gingrich knows what he’s doing… and it’s not about THIS campaign.

*** No means no: The Democratic National Committee is going up with a Spanish-language TV ad in Denver and Las Vegas. Here’s the script (translated into English): “Republicans say no to Medicare… No to financial aid… No to help for the middle class. They always say no, but they never say why not… Obama is fighting on our side.”

*** Trumka speaks at Brookings: In remarks he'll deliver today at the Brookings Institution, AFL-CIO head Richard Trumka will say, according to excerpts: "We don’t have a debt crisis -- we have a jobs crisis. America isn’t broke. But America’s basic promise – an ever-rising, ever-widening prosperity – is being broken. Counting all the casualties of the job crisis, our real underemployment rate is over 16 percent. Earlier generations of economists would have called this a depression." Also: “We need to rethink some of the assumptions that have distorted the debates and decisions of the past three decades or more. Today I want to talk about three:  The cult of the corporation, the faith in free trade and the addiction to austerity.”

*** Friday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up: The latest information on the killing of Al-Awlaki… Romney campaign media adviser Russ Schriefer… National Review’s Robert Costa on Gov. Christie’s pending decision… Skip Rutherford on this weekend’s Clinton-Gore ’92 reunion in Little Rock and what’s on the minds of attendees for 2012… Daily Beast contributor Zachary Karabell on how German Chancellor Merkel’s decisions in Europe could affect President Obama’s chances for reelection… And more 2012 with former Rep. Susan Molinari (R-NY), Democratic pollster Fred Yang and National Journal’s Major Garrett.

*** Friday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up:. NBC’s Andrea Mitchell will interview Pentagon Press Secretary George Little (on the al-Awlaki killing), the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza, and Democratic strategist Bill Burton and GOP strategist David Winston. In addition, the show plans to simulcast Michael Smerconish’s interview with President Obama at 1:40 pm ET.

Countdown to WV GOV contest: 4 days
Countdown to Election Day 2011: 39 days
Countdown to the Iowa caucuses: 129 days
* Note: When the IA caucuses take place depends on whether other states move up, and it’s likely that the contest takes place earlier.

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The New York Times: “A missile fired from an American drone aircraft in Yemen on Friday killed Anwar al-Awlaki, the radical American-born cleric who was a leading figure in al Qaeda’s affiliate there, according to an official in Washington.”

“Al-Awlaki would be the most prominent Al Qaeda figure to be killed since Osama bin Laden’s death,” AP writes, adding, “Al-Awlaki, born in New Mexico to Yemeni parents, was believed to be key in turning Al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen into what American officials have called the most significant and immediate threat to the Untied States.”

The DNC is going up this weekend with a Spanish-language ad in Denver and Las Vegas, in two critically important states to the president’s reelect. The ad pushes Obama’s jobs plan and is called, “Siempre Dicen No,” or “They always say no,” about Republicans.

“The Obama administration told the United Nations that too few of its 10,307 workers are being cut and average salaries, currently $119,000 a year, have risen ‘dramatically,’” Bloomberg reports.

The Democratic-leaning group Priorities USA Action is hitting the Republican 2012ers on education: “During this month’s Republican presidential debates, the candidates have instead argued over who would do the most to eliminate nationwide education standards and reduce federal funding for education. Mitt Romney opposed attempts to decrease class size, Rick Perry attacked the Race to the Top Program, and most candidates proposed abolishing the Department of Education.”

More: “But the Republican shift on education policy is not mirrored by changes in polling. In fact, the American public remains overwhelmingly committed to government investment in education as a national priority. Republican statements in opposition to small class sizes, the Race to the Top program and the Department of Education are broadly outside mainstream American views.”

BACHMANN: Bachmann told NBC News that her campaign is "on pace" with its fundraising objectives -- and said her campaign will "probably be reporting even more" than it has in the past, NBC’s Jamie Novogrod reports.

CAIN: The Wall Street Journal’s Henninger writes, “Herman Cain is a credible candidate. Whether he deserves to be president is something voters will decide. But he deserves a serious look.” Then again, his campaign said yesterday that Cain won’t campaign in Iowa until November (!!!).

CHRISTIE: “After months of hedging, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is giving serious thought to jumping into the ring for a GOP presidential run -- and could make his decision next week, The [New York] Post has learned. The announcement may come as soon as Monday, said sources familiar with Christie’s thinking. The renewed consideration about a White House run came after prodding this week from some Republicans he idolizes, including former First Lady Nancy Reagan, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and former President George W. Bush, sources said.”

The Post’s editorial page continues to push his candidacy: “We hope it’s a go. The GOP needs a strong candidate if it is to capitalize on its opportunities next year. Chris Christie made a persuasive case for himself in California Tuesday night. It’s pretty clear that Republicans want to hear more -- and we suspect strongly that America does as well. Ramp it up, governor.”

The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger also reports: “Gov. Chris Christie is seriously rethinking his months of denials and may launch a campaign for the White House after all, a source close to the governor said.” Another point: “In addition, the Governor’s wife, Mary Pat, no longer objects to a presidential run, according to an adviser to the governor. … [A] few months ago former first lady Barbara Bush called Mary Pat to assuage her concerns about life in the White House, the adviser said.”

George Pataki wants Christie to run.

GINGRICH: How bad is Gingrich’s fundraising number going to be? A reporter asked this yesterday: “With the fundraising quarter coming to a close, what….” That prompted this response from Gingrich: “See, I knew you couldn’t resist. I’m not going to answer you. I think you should, you should really go home and think about why you would even ask that today.”

The AP: “Hoping to revive his flagging bid for the Republican presidential nomination, former House speaker Newt Gingrich is calling for an overhaul of the way Americans pay taxes, buy health care, and contribute to Social Security. Gingrich mapped out the 10-point plan, which he’s calling The 21st Century Contract with America, in a speech at a Des Moines insurance company yesterday.”

PERRY: “Republican kingmakers in Iowa say that support for Rick Perry has weakened as he struggles to gain traction among social conservatives and proponents of border-control reforms,” The Hill writes.

ROMNEY: “Mitt Romney is on pace to raise between $11 million and $13 million for the latest fund-raising quarter, a haul that would be much lower than the $18.2 million he brought in during the previous three months, according to a person familiar with the campaign’s finances,” the Boston Globe reports. “Romney’s strong performance in a trio of recent debates had helped his fund-raising by motivating his supporters, but it was not enough to move some of the fence-sitters over to his camp, according to the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the campaign has not publicly released its numbers yet.”

The Romney campaign did not confirm the number. Spokesman Ryan Williams, echoing comments made to the Boston Globe by other campaign officials, told First Read to expect Romney to “raise considerably less” than the first quarter. “The first reporting period is usually the best finance report for a campaign,” Williams said. “We are going to raise considerably less than what we did in our first reporting period, but we will still meet our finance goals for this quarter. Unlike other candidates, all of the dollars we raise will be for the primary. Rick Perry is a brand new candidate raising primary and general election dollars, and as the governor of a large state and former RGA chair we suspect he will lead the Republican field in fundraising for this quarter.”

Romney will be interviewed on Mike Huckabee’s show to air this weekend. “The two men have had a tense relationship since 2008, when a surprise victory in the Iowa caucuses by Mr. Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas, upended a carefully designed plan by Mr. Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, to win the state that year,” the New York Times writes.

During the lead-up to the caucuses in 2007, they traded increasingly hostile barbs.

Romney says Amtrak should be privatized. (Over to you, Mr. Vice President.)

SANTORUM: “News Corp., the station’s parent company, paid Santorum $239,000 to contribute to Fox News in 2010 and the first half of 2011, according his personal financial disclosure report out Thursday,” Politico writes, adding, “The former Pennsylvania senator made almost $350,000 in the political punditry business during that time, thanks to his other previous gigs as a Philadelphia Inquirer columnist and fill-in host for Bill Bennett’s conservative radio show.”

Republicans unveiled a budget that would cut funding from the health-care law, NPR, and “Race to the Top.” It’s not likely going anywhere in committee, however, because some Republicans think it still includes too much spending.

“As the deficit reduction supercommittee hunts for $1.5 trillion in additional savings, US hospital executives are so worried about having their payments cut that they plan to start lobbying Congress next week to shift the burden onto their elderly patients - specifically by raising the age of eligibility for Medicare,” the Boston Globe reports. “The American Hospital Association is rallying hundreds of hospital leaders to descend upon the Capitol on Tuesday and urge legislators to consider increasing the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67 as one way to save money without reducing payments to hospitals. That move is so controversial that President Obama, who once expressed a willingness to entertain the change in Medicare age eligibility, omitted it from his deficit-reduction proposal last week.”

The House approved the short-term spending bill yesterday. “There had been worries that a Tea Party lawmaker would show up and shout out an objection - derailing the whole shebang and starting the ‘government shutdown’ clocks again,” the Washington Post writes. “But none showed. And two seconds of silence was all it took.”

“Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said, at the moment, Democrats in Congress don’t have the votes to pass President Obama’s jobs bill, but Durbin added that that situation would change,” The Hill writes of Durbin’s appearance on a Chicago radio show.

The liberal Progressive Change Campaign Committee is today announcing it’s endorsing three Democrats running for Congress in 2012: Chris Donovan (CT-5), Ann McLane Kuster (NH-2), and Ilya Sheyman (IL-10). “In 2012, we can't just focus on electing Democrats. We need to focus on electing bold progressive fighters,” the PCCC says in an email announcing these endorsements. “Today, we're proud to endorse three bold progressives who vow to be strong allies of Elizabeth Warren in Congress.” 

INDIANA: “The Tea Party Express is backing Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock’s primary challenge to Sen. Dick Lugar (R) in 2012,” Roll Call reports.

UTAH: “The Utah Legislature’s redistricting committee agreed on a plan today that would put Democrats in danger of losing their hold on one of the state’s districts,” Roll Call writes.

BATON ROUGE, La. – New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie warned a small crowd gathered Thursday evening in a hangar at the Baton Rouge Airport that he would be “watching from New Jersey” for voters to re-elect Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal this fall.

But working the rope line after the event, the New Jersey Republican ignored multiple questions from reporters about a potential bid for the White House, the subject of much speculation after his speech Tuesday at the Reagan presidential library in California.

Still, on Thursday, Christie did more than simply voice his support for the governor of the Bayou State. “If it were, you know, up to Bobby and I, we could focus all our time right here in our own states here in Louisiana and New Jersey,” Christie said. “But we can’t do that, because America needs to get better too.”

And at times he sounded like some of the Republicans now on the presidential campaign trail. “If you’re looking for leadership in America, you know you’re not going to find it in the Oval Office,” he said.

The event was billed as welcome rally for Christie – who later in the evening joined Jindal again for a fundraiser at a private home, with tickets going for as much as $100,000.

At the airport, Christie ended with a warning to Louisiana voters.

He said, “I expect a huge win for Bobby Jindal on election night, and if I don’t get it, if I don’t get it, you don't want me coming back here with a little Jersey attitude on me. You’re going to have a problem if that happens."

DES MOINES, IA -- Newt Gingrich unveiled an updated version of the "Contract with America” here this afternoon, looking for a repeat of his 1994 success when the original was credited for helping give Republicans a majority in the House and propelling him to the Speakership.
 
“The 21st Century Contract with America is big enough, it’s complete enough, and it gives people a sense of what it would take to truly fix what’s wrong with America,” Gingrich told NBC News in an interview following the release.
 
While not fully detailed, Gingrich said some of the legislative proposals in the 10-point plan include ideas aimed at repealing Obama’s health care law, creating jobs, balancing the federal budget, reducing the power of federal judges and enforcing the 10th amendment.
 
“The scale of change I am suggesting is so enormous that I couldn’t possibly show you as a single leader all I am going to do. This is a beginning of a conversation,” Gingrich told the crowd during the town hall style meeting.
 
There will be 4 parts to the plan that will be finalized by Sept. 27th of 2012, the 18th anniversary of the original contract:  The legislative proposals, a “first day” in office project, a training program for transition teams, and the building of a system of citizen involvement. Many of the details in his 26-page document are still evolving, Gingrich pointed out.
 
The former Speaker remains a second-tier candidate in polls with the second quarter fundraising deadline looming tomorrow.  The candidate refused to answer questions about how much money he has raised in the past three months.
 
Gingrich hopes this contract, unveiled in front of more than 300 employees at the Principal Financial Group, will allow for a focus on solution-based politics. He said that his ideas have always been more like those an outsider despite being part of the Washington establishment in the 1990s and America needs someone like him to be president.
 
“I think you have to ask yourself do you want somebody who has the experience and the knowledge of how Washington works in order to get it done. We just tried four years of inexperience,” Gingrich told NBC News.
 
A reception was held for Gingrich tonight at the Republican Party of Iowa headquarters. He remains in Iowa Friday with stops in Fort Dodge and Ames.

The back and forth continues between Donald Trump and Jon Huntsman's campaign.

This afternoon, a spokesman for Trump told NBC News he couldn't understand why Huntsman's campaign would be attacking Trump and the other Republican candidates he'd met with. Huntsman's campaign, Trump's spokesman said, had also made requests for a meeting.

"There were several calls made by the Huntsman campaign in which to schedule a face-to-face meeting with Mr. Trump and Ambassador Huntsman over the last few weeks," Trump Spokesman Michael Cohen said, although he provided no evidence of specific conversations or identify who exactly from the campaign sought to make that contact.

Asked this afternoon whether elements of the Huntsman campaign had indeed reached out to Trump, Huntsman spokesman Tim Miller declined to comment at this time.

Earlier today, Miller told NBC News: "Unlike Rick Perry and Mitt Romney Governor Huntsman isn't wasting his time with Presidential Apprentice, his focus is on real solutions to fix our nation's economy," adding "We're rooting for Gov. Romney and The Donald taking a helicopter to Manchester to announce this key endorsement, the search for the birth certificate, and their conveniently timed flip-flops on abortion."

Trump pushed back via his own twitter account this morning, tweeting: "@jonhuntsman has zero chance of getting the nomination. Whoever said I wanted to meet him? Time is money and I don't waste mine."

The ongoing volleys of anti-Trump tweets and statements mark something of a pattern with the Huntsman campaign. It has previously used twitter to poke fun at the rest of the pack, and separate Huntsman from the field. In a tweet that sparked a debate on the subject of Republican attitudes towards science, Huntsman attacked Rick Perry for his global-warming views, daring everyone to call the former Utah governor "crazy" for believing in global warming and science.

"The only way this guy can get any airtime is by trying to discredit Mr. Trump," Cohen said. "He [Huntsman] should worry less about Mr. Trump's poll numbers and try to figure out how to bring himself up in the polls, being that he ranks dead last in the Republican field," Cohen said.

SIMPSONVILLE, SC – Ann Romney had some blunt words for those who don’t vote for her husband Mitt this time around.

“If they don't pick Mitt that's their stupid mistake, not mine,” she jokingly told a crowd at the city hall here, to laughter.

Romney added that she felt more positively about campaigning now than she did when her husband first ran in 2008. (Romney finished fourth in South Carolina, pulling all of his resources out of the state just a few weeks before the primary vote) 

“I’ve had a totally different mental change from the last round. And that is, I’m going to enjoy this. A lot. It’s not like I didn’t enjoy it last time. It wasn’t all horrible, really,” she joked. “But I was worried all the time.”

“I'm not worried anymore! Mitt's going to win!” she said to applause.

“I’m going to enjoy meeting all you folks. I’m going to enjoy my trip in the airport. I’m going to enjoy all of it,” she continued.

While she did not defend the former Massachusetts governor on any policy specifics, Romney did say that she gets frustrated when she sees “how things get misrepresented.”

“I am a she-lion when it comes to anyone attacking him, you better look out! I get very, very upset at his being misrepresented.” 

She praised her husband as a “turnaround expert,” saying it was time to “get somebody in there who actually knows how to bring about change and how to actually fix things that are broken.”

The rest of her speech was focused on the closeness of her family: she talked about her late father-in-law George Romney, whom she says she misses; her father and great grand-father, Welsh coal miners who emigrated to the United States; and her sixteen grandchildren.

She also told an emotional story about how her husband motivated her to overcome her depression after she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, in 1998.

“I thought, ‘my life is over. I’m finished. This is awful. I can’t spend the rest of my life just being in bed,’” Romney told the crowd of about 60 here. “And Mitt was really amazing during this time. My most difficult time in my life. He would put his arm around me, he’d say, ‘look. There are worse things in life.’”

She said he would say, “We’ve got to remember one thing. You’re still here. We’re still together. Everything’s going to be okay.”

She added that his support “did something to me mentally and emotionally that made me want to fight. And it kicked me into a different gear. I stopped feeling sorry for myself, I stopped being depressed, and I started to fight.  

“I’m so grateful for Mitt for being the kind of husband that pulled me through a real crisis in my life,” she continued. 

She suggested the anecdote revealed more about her husband’s character than the jobs he’s held. “The job we do doesn't matter, it's who you are.” 

Romney will be in South Carolina tomorrow as well, attending a fundraising breakfast for the South Carolina Republican Party and submitting her husband's primary filing paperwork with the state party. 

State treasurer Curtis Loftis, a Romney supporter who campaigned with Mrs. Romney all day, said that "people love her" and that "she really humanizes the governor." He said he'd like to see her in South Carolina as much as possible. 

The Huntsman campaign is moving north for the Winter.

In a restructuring that seemed inevitable, the former Utah governor's campaign will move its headquarters from Florida to New Hampshire, spokesman Michael Levoff confirms.

"As evidenced by recent polling Jon Huntsman's support with New Hampshire voters continues to grow every day," campaign manager Matt David said in a statement, "and this move will ensure that we have the resources necessary to win the First in the Nation primary. Success in New Hampshire is vital for our campaign to have the momentum we need to succeed in South Carolina, Florida, and the states that follow."

The move will include staff layoffs. Some key players, however, will continue in their roles, including David, chief strategist John Weaver, and New Hampshire head Sarah Crawford Stewart. The campaign will keep a presence in Florida and South Carolina.

Huntsman, who saw a bump in a recent poll in the Granite State to 10%, last week acknowledged that he would be focusing singularly on New Hampshire.

Huntsman is due back in the Granite State for more town-hall meetings next week, and he will participate in the next two debates.

The White House is still answering questions about the president's somewhat controversial remarks at a Congressional Black Caucus dinner this weekend.

"I'm going to press on for the sake of all those families who are struggling right now," the president said before black lawmakers and guests on Saturday. "I don’t have time to feel sorry for myself. I don’t have time to complain. I am going to press on. I expect all of you to march with me and press on. Take off your bedroom slippers, put on your marching shoes. Shake it off. Stop complaining, stop grumbling, stop crying.  We are going to press on. We’ve got work to do, CBC."

It was meant to be a rallying cry near the end of his remarks, but the comment has become a flashpoint with lawmakers like Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA). "I'm not sure who the president was addressing," Waters told CBS on Monday. "I found that language a bit curious because the President spoke to the Hispanic caucus and certainly they're pushing him on immigration...He certainly didn't tell them to stop complaining and he would never say that to the gay and lesbian community who really pushed him on "don't ask, don't tell."

However, today, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney pointed out the president has used this language before.

Indeed, he's correct.

Two weeks ago, promoting his jobs plan at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C., the President said:

"We’re bigger than the politics we’ve been putting up with. We’re patriots and pioneers and innovators and entrepreneurs. Through individual effort, but also through a commitment to one another, we have built an economy that is the engine and the envy of the world.  We’re not going to stop now. The time for hand-wringing is over. The time for moping around -- we’ve got to kick off our bedroom slippers and put on our marching shoes. We’ve got to get to work."

It was a line that also came near the end of that speech and induced applause in both crowds.

"I think there are individuals in every community who -- who might be unhappy with a political leader," Carney added.

In public, there doesn't seem to be a consensus among black lawmakers about what the president, who still enjoys strong approval ratings among black voters, meant. And based on interviews from MSNBC this week, black leaders had unique interpretations of the president's words.

"In the passion of the  moment, he talked about the complaining that he's hearing around the country inside the party," Chairman of the CBC Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) said. "And he's saying that that's not helpful. Join in. We need all of the members of this coalition working together, so that we can successfully deal with reelection."

And Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD), when asked about her reaction, said, "I was like most of the crowd there, incredibly enthusiastic by the president, the fighting  spirit the president was  showing. I actually went in to talk to a  group of seniors the following  day. And when I said to them, it's  time for us to stop complaining and to press on, they lit up the room just like the room in the Congressional Black Caucus. I think the President is right on message."