MANCHESTER NH-- In what appears to be an attempt to solidify his support among Tea Party voters, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will deliver a "major spending policy speech" on Friday evening at the Americans for Prosperity's Defending the American Dream Summit in Washington, according to his campaign. On Thursday, Romney will preview his spending policy in Exeter, NH, the campaign confirms.

Americans for Prosperity is a conservative organization originally funded by conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch, and it has helped organize numerous Tea Party events.

Romney, who will serve as the keynote speaker at the summit's Tribute to Ronald Reagan dinner, will be greeted by approximately 3,000 voters on Friday evening, according to Americans for Prosperity's New Hampshire state director Corey Lewandowski. Past keynote speakers have included Senator Jim DeMint and George Will.

"This is an opportunity for Gov. Romney and others, if they chose to come, to meet people from all 50 states. These are the types that want smaller government and economic prosperity. It's a really good opportunity to talk to an audience that they wouldn't have an opportunity to speak to. We're happy to have Gov. Romney," Lewandowski told NBC News.

This is Romney's latest move to win over Tea Party voters, a group in which his support remains isn't as strong as others. A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that he slightly underperformed among Tea Party voters, while Herman Cain overperformed.

Fellow GOP front-runner Herman Cain is slated to speak on Saturday morning at the same conference.  Americans for Prosperity's national headquarters told NBC News that a small number of presidential candidates were invited ,and they have not yet finalized who is able to attend. Other confirmed speakers include Rudy Giuliani and Carly Fiorina.

While Romney is speaking in Washington on Friday night, his rival Rick Perry will deliver remarks across the country at an Iowa state GOP fundraising banquet -- along with Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul.

"This will be a contrast, where Gov. Romney will be speaking to what I would believe much larger and much diverse audience than Gov. Perry will be speaking to in Iowa," Lewandowski said.

The general fee to attend the summit and Reagan tribute dinner is $169, according to the Americans for Prosperity website.

NBC's Garrett Haake contributed reporting to this story.

The Justice Department is asking a federal court to stop enforcement of parts of South Carolina's new immigration law, bringing to three the number of states the Obama administration is suing over immigration crackdowns.

The government earlier this year challenged Alabama's new law. And we're waiting to see if the Supreme Court takes up the challenge to the Arizona law.

The Justice Department action, filed Monday in federal court in Charleston, is directed at parts of the new South Carolina law that, for example:

-require police to determine immigration status during any lawful stop, detention, investigation, or arrest by the where there is "reasonable suspicion" that an individual is unlawfully present,

-allow state residents to sue any local government agency that moves to limit enforcement of state immigration laws,

-and create a new state crime of "allowing oneself to be transported" for the purpose of harboring someone here illegally or concealing a person's immigration status.

"By pursuing retribution and ignoring every other objective embodied in the federal immigration system (including the federal government's prioritization of the removal of criminal aliens)," the Justice Department said, the South Carolina law "conflicts with and otherwise stands as an obstacle to Congress's demand for sufficient flexibility in the enforcement of federal immigration law to accommodate the competing interests of immigration control, national security and public safety, humanitarian concerns, and foreign relations."

President Obama and his eventual Republican opponent will square off for a trio of debates next October in Colorado, New York, and Florida.

The Commission on Presidential Debates, the nonpartisan commission that sets the schedule of debates, announced the schedule and setting for three presidential debates, and the lone vice presidential debate of the 2012 cycle.

Obama and his would-be Republican challenger will debate Weds., Oct. 3 at the University of Denver, Tues., Oct. 16 at Hofstra University in metropolitan New York, and on Mon., Oct. 22 at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. The Hofstra debate will be a town hall meeting-style format.

The vice presidential debate will be held Thurs., Oct. 11 at Centre College in Danville, Ky.

Two of the three presidential debates take place in swing states -- Colorado and Florida -- that Obama won in 2008. The backup site for a debate, Washington University in St. Louis, is in Missouri, is in a state won by Arizona Sen. John McCain (R) in the last presidential election.

"The president looks forward to next year’s debates," Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said in a statement. "Once the Republicans have selected their candidate, we will work through the details with their campaign and the Commission on Presidential Debates."

The commission also released criteria through which a third party candidate could make his or her way onstage in the debates. In order for a third party candidate to qualify, they would have to be constitutionally eligible, score above 15 percent in recognized national polls, and qualify to appear on enough ballots to conceivably win a majority of votes in the Electoral College.

Laconia, Dover, and Hampton, NH--Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman wouldn't rule out spending more of his personal fortune on his flagging presidential campaign during a campaign swing in New Hampshire.

Huntsman, who's struggled to gain traction in the polls and whose campaign was saddled with almost $1 million in debt at the end of Sept., said when asked by a reporter if he will pump personal cash into his New Hampshire-centric operation: "It's not about putting money in. It's about messaging."

"As we go up and gain traction in New Hampshire, our fundraising goes up 250 percent. So it's the marketplace at work. If we do well here and if the polls ahead we're showing signs of life, money will come," Huntsman said hopefully on Sunday.

Huntsman stuck to an aggressive campaign schedule in New Hampshire, trudging through the snow to four campaign stops Sunday despite the fact that much of New Hampshire had been without power for 24 hours due to a major weekend snowstorm.

Huntsman, who loaned his campaign $2 million last quarter, also criticized the role of super PACs in campaigns. Our Destiny PAC, the super PAC organized to support Huntsman, has yet to execute any advertising on his behalf.

"If you could wish away all the SuperPACs, I would do that in an instant. We don't need that," Huntsman told reporters. "In fact you know the sad commentary is to remain competitive today you've got to have organizations raise money to do this and that. Is that the best way to do it? I don't think so. I don't think we've found the best way to finance campaigns."

According to his campaign's recent fundraising reports, Huntsman is suffering from a cash flow problem. His campaign only had a paltry $300,000 cash on hand at the end of the quarter 3 along with nearly $900,000 of debt. Many have wondered if his billionaire father, Jon Huntsman Sr., will contribute to Our Horizon.

Huntsman, who this fall folded his multi-state strategy and moved his national campaign headquarters to New Hampshire for financial reasons, has sustained more aggressive attacks against GOP front runners in the Granite State during this campaign swing.

Just days after launching a web video criticizing Mitt Romney, Huntsman distributed hard copies of his economic plan to voters at town hall meetings before criticizing each of his competitors' alternatives.

"People don't want a well-lubricated weather vane," Huntsman said of Mitt Romney. "They don't want someone who's been on every side of all the major issues of the day, from life right on to what's playing out in Ohio on union reform. They want someone who's gonna be straight up and consistent."

"And Rick Perry's a friend. He's put forward a flat tax and I say, 'I did a flat tax as governor.' That's a pretty good thing but the problem with Rick's plan is that it's an option and we're still stuck with the same old system," he said in Dover of the Texas governor. "That doesn't get us where we need to be."

Huntsman called Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan "a non-starter with Congress."

On a lighter note, Huntsman said he is taking cues on campaign strategy from his three daughters, who have become notable for their tweets and now a video from the campaign trail. Abby, Mary Anne and Liddy Huntsman recently published a YouTube video poking fun at Herman Cain's viral ad featuring his campaign manager Mark Block smoking a cigarette. The video some voters said on Sunday has gotten more attention on the New Hampshire campaign than Huntsman himself.

"You [campaign] in the old fashioned way that I do, you give important policy speeches here and there and a few people tune in," Huntsman told voters in Hampton. "And your daughters get on YouTube and it goes viral. I say, 'Okay I’m beginning to understand how politics works these days.'"

Herman Cain continued to deny any wrongdoing related allegations made against him that he sexually harassed two women during his days as head of the National Restaurant Association, dismissing the accusations as a "witch hunt."

"I told you this bull's eye on my back has gotten bigger,” Cain said emphatically during an appearance at the National Press Club in Washington. "We have, I have no idea the source of this witch hunt -- and that’s what this is."

When asked about it at the start of the question-and-answer session, Cain said, “I would be delighted to clear the air.”

He reiterated what he said on FOX earlier: “I have never sexually harassed anyone. … I was accused of sexual harassment, falsely accused, I might add.”

He said he recused himself from the National Restaurant Association’s investigation of the accusations, saying it was handled by Human Resources and the association’s general counsel.

Cain claimed the investigation concluded that there was no wrongdoing on his part. But, he said, for him “enough said about the issue” and he would not be working with the restaurant association to release more information. (It’s not clear he could anyway because of confidentiality agreements.)

He also reiterated that despite being chief executive officer he was “unaware of a settlement that came out of that accusation.” And he joked again that he hoped the accusers didn’t get much, because, “I have never sexually harassed anyone. Those accusations are totally false.”

The National Restaurant Association today released the following statement:

“The incidents in question relate to personnel matters that allegedly took place nearly fifteen years ago. Consistent with our longstanding policy, we don’t comment on personnel issues relating to current or former employees,” said Sue Hensley, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs Communications for the National Restaurant Association.

*** UPDATE *** Cain sang a few bars of a gospel song to close out his remarks.

NBC News has confirmed that one woman received a settlement from the National Restaurant Association after complaining about inappropriate sexual conduct by Herman Cain.

NBC News is not disclosing the name of the woman nor characterizing who she is.

Cain denied the allegations, saying on FOX this morning he was "falsely accused." "I have never sexually harassed anyone, anyone," he said, "and absolutely, these are false accusations."

Despite being the chief executive officer of the National Restaurant Association, he said he was unaware of any settlement with the accusers, though he didn't deny it.

"If the restaurant association did a settlement, I wasn't even aware of it," he claimed, "and I hope it wasn't for much. If there was a settlement, it was handled by some of the other officers at the restaurant association."

Just like Charlie Brown, Rick Perry has had several chances to kick that football to the GOP nomination -- but he keeps on falling down. And there isn’t a Lucy to blame.

On paper, the Texas governor is the most logical person to benefit from a potential Herman Cain downfall.

He's currently the country's longest-serving governor. He's an outspoken critic of the president with conservative credentials. And he's got the money.

But every time Perry seems to have an opportunity to make a positive second impression, he gets overshadowed by something negative -- of his own creation.

Last week, when he unveiled his flat-tax plan, the thing he hoped could catapult him past Cain and his 9-9-9 plan, he was instead answering questions about (1) whether or not he thought President Obama was born in America, and (2) whether or not he would attend future debates.

Then today, Perry stood to benefit from the allegations that Cain sexually harassed two women when he was head of the National Restaurant Association. But, instead, what's getting attention -- besides those allegations against Cain -- is a zany speech Perry gave Friday in New Hampshire.

These openings don't come along very often, and Perry's chances at capitalizing are becoming slimmer with just 64 days to go before voting in Iowa.

AP

Presidential hopeful Herman Cain (R) at the American Enterprise Institute this morning, takes a question on his 9-9-9 plan.

Herman Cain acknowledged there were allegations of sexual harassment while he headed the National Restaurant Association, declaring on FOX this morning that he was “falsely accused."

"I have never sexually harassed anyone, anyone," he said, "and absolutely, these are false accusations."

But he said he was unaware of any settlement with the accusers, though he didn't deny it.

"If the restaurant association did a settlement, I wasn't even aware of it," he claimed, "and I hope it wasn't for much. If there was a settlement, it was handled by some of the other officers at the restaurant association."

If more accusations are made, Cain said they, too, would be false.

“If there are more allegations, people will make them up,” Cain said.

He acknowledged the allegations could damage his campaign.

"Some people are going to be turned off by this cloud," he said, adding, of course, that he hopes they do not.

Asked why his family hasn't been a notable part of his campaign, particularly his wife, Cain said, "You will meet my wife publicly, in an exclusive interview we are planning and anticipating."

But, he said, "You won’t see my family out on the campaign trail. … My wife represents that calm and tranquility I look forward to when I go home."

He also noted that his children are adults with their own children.

In a separate potential scandal, the following was reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this morning:

"Herman Cain's two top campaign aides ran a private Wisconsin-based corporation that helped the GOP presidential candidate get his fledgling campaign off the ground by originally footing the bill for tens of thousands of dollars in expenses for such items as iPads, chartered flights and travel to Iowa and Las Vegas - something that might breach federal tax and campaign law, according to sources and documents.”

But Cain said he hadn't heard of it.

“I’m not aware of this report," Cain said, adding, "We are going to look into this report to see if there is any validity. … We will take a look at it. I didn’t even know about it until you brought it up on this show."

In the spring of 2008, the Hillary Clinton and John McCain campaigns ganged up on then-Democratic front-runner Barack Obama -- often hitting him with the same lines of attack. He's too inexperienced. He's naive on foreign policy. His promises aren't based in reality.

And the one-two punch certainly bruised Obama, although not enough to deny him the Democratic nomination or stop his decisive general-election victory.

Now we're seeing a similar sort of tag-teaming, with the Obama White House and Rick Perry making the same exact attacks on presumptive GOP front-runner Mitt Romney.

Just check out what White House senior adviser David Plouffe said on "Meet the Press" yesterday, and what Perry said on "Fox News Sunday," per NBC's Sarah Blackwill:

Perry: He's been for pro-abortion.

Plouffe: He was an extremely pro-choice governor. Now he believes that life begins at conception.

Perry: He's been for, you know, supporting gay rights.

Plouffe: He was to the left of Ted Kennedy on gay rights issues. Now he wants to amend the Constitution to further gay marriage.

Perry: We are very, very different from the standpoint of consistency.

Plouffe: What you need in that office is conviction. you've need to have a true compass and you've got to be willing to make tough calls.

*** UPDATE *** Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul emails First Read:
“Gov. Perry and President Obama have a lot in common, including their support for tuition breaks for illegal immigrants and opposition to a border fence. They also share abysmal jobs records. Under Rick Perry, Texas unemployment has doubled. And under President Obama more middle class American’s have lost their jobs than anytime in modern history. It is no wonder their only strategy is to issue false and negative attacks on Mitt Romney.”

On MSNBC's "Daily Rundown," top Cain aide Mark Block told NBC's Chuck Todd that Herman Cain never sexually harassed women while at the National Restaurant Association.

"Herman Cain has never sexually harassed anybody. Period. End of story."

But Block wasn't as unequivocal when Todd asked him if any settlement was given to these women. "You contact the National Restaurant Association," he said. "I am not personally aware of any settlement."

Lowering Cain?... Does Politico story hurt his poll position, and does it benefit others in the GOP field?... Cain camp hardly gives an unequivocal denial to the story… Perry launches second TV ad in Iowa in hopes of getting a second look… Plouffe unloads on Romney… Obama meets with Tony Blair and signs executive order to prevent drug shortages… And Super Committee receives more and more attention.

*** Lowering Cain? What the political gods giveth, they also taketh away. Just a day after the Des Moines Register poll showed Herman Cain leading the GOP pack in Iowa, a Politico report surfaced alleging that at least two women who worked under Cain when he headed the National Restaurant Association complained of inappropriate behavior by the ex-Godfather’s Pizza CEO. “The women complained of sexually suggestive behavior by Cain that made them angry and uncomfortable, the sources said, and they signed agreements with the restaurant group that gave them financial payouts to leave the association.” NBC News has not yet independently verified the Politico report. The Cain campaign issued this response last night, which doesn’t unequivocally deny the charges: “Inside the Beltway media have begun to launch unsubstantiated personal attacks on Cain. Dredging up thinly sourced allegations stemming from Mr. Cain’s tenure as the Chief Executive Officer at the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, political trade press are now casting aspersions on his character and spreading rumors that never stood up to the facts.”

*** Hardly an unequivocal denial: Also last night, Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon called into FOX’s “Geraldo at Large” show, per NBC’s Andrew Rafferty. Gordon never responded directly when host Geraldo Rivera repeatedly asked if there was a financial settlement between the candidate and two women who reportedly accused him of inappropriate behavior. Gordon finally said, “You would have to get that from the National Restaurant Association.” Mediaite also notes that Gordon never explicitly denied the allegations. “‘[D]o you deny that this ever happened?’ Geraldo questioned. ‘Let me just tell you this is an example of the media attacks,’ Gordon hit back. ‘Yes or no, was there a cash settlement to two female employees of the National Restaurant Association?’ Geraldo persisted. But Gordon would only continue to give non-answers to the allegations. ‘All I am telling you right now is it’s something the establishment is trying to attack…’”

*** So what happens to Cain -- and to the rest of the field? The Politico story is the latest knock on Cain since he began to rise in the polls, following scrutiny and criticism of his 9-9-9 plan, his foreign-policy views, and the seriousness of his campaign (all of the non-early-state travel, that smoke‘em-if-you-got’em Web video). Three questions immediately come to mind: One, can his campaign handle this story? (The most sophisticated of political operatives struggle to handle and get in front of scandal stories; Cain’s less experienced team, so far, appears to be struggling big time.) Two, assuming the campaign can’t fix this, does Cain become the latest conservative darling (after Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry) to sink in the polls? And three, what happens if he does? Could that benefit Perry or someone else? After all, that 23% in Iowa in the Des Moines Register poll and the 27% in the national NBC/WSJ poll have to go somewhere, right? By the way, the discussion of that Politico piece comes as Cain spends his day in DC with two public events. At 9:00 am ET, he speaks at the conservative American Enterprise Institute on his 9-9-9 plan. Then, at 1:00 pm, he delivers an address to the National Press Club. So the media throng will be there to greet him. Also, Cain Chief of Staff Mark Block will be on MSNBC’s “Daily Rundown” at 9:00 am.

*** Perry hopes for a second look: Meanwhile, Perry is up with his second positive TV ad in Iowa, NBC’s Carrie Dann reports. The ad references his less-than-stellar debating skills. "If you're looking for a slick politician or a guy with great Teleprompter skills, we already have that -- and he's destroying our economy," Perry says to the camera. "I'm a doer, not a talker." He goes on to say, “In Texas, we created 40% of the new jobs in the entire since June of 2009, and we cut a record $15 billion from our state budget.” As the New York Times writes, “Two months before the Republican contest opens with the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, two questions loom: Can Mr. Romney attract the three-quarters of Republicans in most polls who say they prefer to support another candidate? And can Mr. Perry — or another rival — emerge as a singular alternative to Mr. Romney by coalescing conservative support that is now dispersed?”

*** Plouffe unloads on Romney: On “Meet the Press” yesterday, White House Senior Adviser David Plouffe blasted Romney (and we’re hearing some questions in the Democratic community whether someone that high up in the White House should be engaging Romney so personally right now). “[H]e has no core… You know, he was supportive of doing things like a cap in trade agreement. Now he doesn't think that, you know, climate change is real. He was to the left of Ted Kennedy on gay rights issues. Now he wants to amend the constitution [on] gay marriage. He was an extremely pro-choice governor. Now he believes that life begins at conception.” Plouffe continued, “You get the sense with Mitt Romney that, you know, if he thought it was good to say the sky was green and the grass was blue, to win an election, he'd say it.”

*** Obama’s day: At 10:00 am ET, President Obama meets with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. And then at 12:20 pm, he signs his latest executive order as part of the administration’s “We Can’t Wait” effort. A White House official tells NBC’s Kristen Welker that the executive order directs the Food and Drug Administration “to take action to help further reduce and prevent drug shortages, protect consumers, and prevent price gouging.”

*** Super Committee gets more attention: As we mentioned last week, the Super Committee -- especially with its Thanksgiving deadline -- begins to receive more and more attention. The Los Angeles Times: “Congress' ‘super committee’ on deficit reduction moves into its serious negotiation stage this week, with its members still far from the goal of reducing the deficit by $1.5 trillion over the next decade. Negotiators from both parties emerged from their secret talks in recent days to float a pair of partisan deficit-cutting proposals. Both were swiftly shot down.” More: “If the committee fails, a series of automatic spending cuts is set to kick in to reduce military and domestic spending. Lawmakers from both parties also fear that a failure could cause turmoil in financial markets.”

*** On the 2012 trail: Besides Cain’s events in DC today, Santorum campaigns in Iowa… And Huntsman stumps in New Hampshire.

*** Monday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up: Cain campaign's Mark Block... Former Reps. Martin Frost (D-TX) and Tom Davis (R-VA) on Congress clashing over cuts... More 2012 news with New York Times' Jackie Calmes, Washington Post's Dan Balz, and Chicago Tribune's Clarence Page.

*** Monday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews NBC’s Chuck Todd, Ann Selzer (on the new Des Moines Register poll), HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, Politico’s Jonathan Martin, BusinessWeek’s Josh Green, and Democratic strategist Bob Shrum.

Countdown to Election Day 2011: 8 days
Countdown to Iowa caucuses: 64 days
Countdown to South Carolina primary: 82 days
Countdown to Florida primary: 92 days
Countdown to Nevada caucuses: 96 days
Countdown to Super Tuesday: 127 days

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BACHMANN: She didn’t rule out the use of force against Iran and said Iran is “the fundamental problem in the Middle East.”

CAIN: “During Herman Cain’s tenure as the head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, at least two female employees complained to colleagues and senior association officials about inappropriate behavior by Cain, ultimately leaving their jobs at the trade group,” Politico reported last night.

The Boston Globe: “A spokesman for the Republican presidential candidate, who has vaulted to the top of some recent polls, denied the allegation to The Associated Press but declined repeated requests from Politico for a direct response to questions about whether his behavior prompted the payouts… Cain has several appearances in Washington planned for today. He is slated to discuss his “9-9-9” tax plan at the American Enterprise Institute, deliver a speech at the National Press Club, and hold a healthcare briefing on Capitol Hill.”

The New York Daily News: “Sexual harassment charges against Republican presidential contender Herman Cain surfaced Sunday, leaving him and his camp scrambling to knock them down.” Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon said the allegations were ‘old and tired’ and ‘never stood up to the facts.’”

The New York Post’s headline: “Cain ‘sex’ bombshell.”

Of course, the news overshadowed that Cain leads in the Des Moines Register’s Iowa poll, released Saturday. Mitt Romney was a point behind him. The New York Post calls them the “Iowa barely-theres.”

And then there’s this from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, per Political Wire: “Herman Cain's two top campaign aides ran a private Wisconsin-based corporation that helped the GOP presidential candidate get his fledgling campaign off the ground by originally footing the bill for tens of thousands of dollars in expenses for such items as iPads, chartered flights and travel to Iowa and Las Vegas - something that might breach federal tax and campaign law, according to sources and documents.”

The AP on the trail with Cain in Alabama ends its story with this quote from Cain: "I don't want no TV show." (Hat tip: GOP 12).

On CBS Face the Nation, Cain said of his smoking web video: “Mark Block smokes. That’s all that ad says. We weren’t trying to say it’s cool to smoke.” And this: With prompting from Schieffer, Cain did issue this public health disclaimer: “Young people of America, all people, do not smoke. It is hazardous and is dangerous to your health… Smoking is not a cool thing to do.”

And he stood by past statements in which he called Planned Parenthood, Planned Genocide, saying “it tried to put centers in black communities to kill black babies.” Planned Parenthood put out a statement responding saying about 10% of its centers are in predominately African-American communities, not a majority like Cain alleged.

And Cain’s the latest for Bad Lip Reading.

HUNTSMAN: “Even Jon Huntsman seemed amused by Izak the goat, who chewed a Huntsman sign outside the Republican presidential candidate’s town hall meeting,” the Boston Globe writes. “He remains far behind in all the polls, including here, where he is polling around 6 percent. Even some supporters doubt he can win. ‘Given our electorate … he doesn’t have a prayer of being elected,’ said Betty Wood, a retired independent voter from Dover. ‘He’s not conservative enough for the Republicans.’ Wood said she will vote for Huntsman in the primary – but President Obama in the general election, if Huntsman doesn’t win the nomination.”

Huntsman’s dad said this about him, per the Deseret News: "If he were running for president of China, he would have already won the election.” (Hat tip: GOP 12.)

PERRY: Here’s his second ad. It’s a gauzy, trailer-like video about his “Cut, Balance, and Grow” plan, featuring a near-endorsement from Rush Limbaugh.

The New York Times: “With time running short before the first votes are cast in the Republican presidential contest, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas is urgently trying to convince voters that his candidacy warrants a second look. He is retooling his campaign with a newly emphatic anti-Washington message and steering the race into a sharper ideological contrast with Mitt Romney.”

“Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry said today that he has changed his position on federal subsidies for nuclear energy,” the Boston Globe writes. “After asking the government for a federal loan guarantee for a Texas nuclear power plant, Perry now says he opposes using any federal money for energy subsidies. ‘I’ve changed my position from the standpoint of having any desire to have the federal government (involved),’ Perry said on Fox News Sunday.”

Perry gave a bit of a strange speech Friday that appeared to be almost an attempt at stand-up comedy.

ROMNEY: George Will on Romney, per GOP 12: “Romney, supposedly the Republican most electable next November, is a recidivist reviser of his principles… Republicans may have found their Michael Dukakis, a technocratic Massachusetts governor who takes his bearings from ‘data’ ... Has conservatism come so far, surmounting so many obstacles, to settle, at a moment of economic crisis, for THIS?”

Michael Calderone looks at Romney limiting his national media exposure this time around. (Hat tip: Political Wire.)

RealClearPolitics’ McPike looked at the slow start last week: “Asked to compare the last election to the current one in terms of this new dynamic, Romney Deputy Campaign Manager Katie Gage said, ‘It's different. But it's more strategic. We don't have to introduce him as much because people know him.’ As for the field generally, Gage explained, ‘The leading candidates tend to be like a pace car.’ She said that four years ago, Romney and the others tended to follow early front-runner John McCain's lead, and he held a large number of events.”

Senior adviser David Plouffe, who ran Obama’s 2008 campaign laid blame on congressional Republicans on Meet the Press: “Right now, we haven't been able to get largely Republicans in Congress to cooperate. So we're going to continue to push for things like cutting taxes for the middle class, putting construction workers back to work,” Plouffe said. “But in the meantime, the president's going to do everything he can, whether it's on housing, student loans, we're going to keep this up.” He also said Romney “has no core.”

David Axelrod on the economy yesterday on CNN: “The problems ... were years in the making. They are deep, they are complicated, and they’re going to require sustained perseverance and lots of ideas. There’s no silver bullet for them.”

“President Obama will issue an executive order on Monday that the administration hopes will help resolve a growing number of critical shortages of vital medicines used to treat life-threatening illnesses, among them several forms of cancer and bacterial infections,” the New York Times says.

President Obama at the National Italian-American Foundation: "I am biased, but I think Nancy was one of the best Speakers of the House this country ever had," Obama said after Pelosi had introduced him at the National Italian American Foundation gala, per The Hill. "She was no doubt the best Italian American Speaker of the House we ever had. And I believe that she will be the best Speaker of the House again in 2013." (A quick check of last names of past speakers shows there probably has never been an Italian-American speaker before.)

“Trick or treaters lucky enough to be allowed into the White House on Halloween will receive quite a treat - with a healthy twist,” the New York Daily News writes. “According to a press release, the White House will be giving out a box of special edition White House M&Ms, a proprietary sweet butter cookie and dried fruit.” On The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Obama joked, "She's been giving, for the last few years, kids fruit and raisins in a bag. And I said, 'The White House is going to get egged. You need to throw some candy in there. A couple Reese's Pieces or something.’”

In his first appearance on a Sunday morning national news program as a presidential candidate, Gov. Rick Perry defended his jobs plan against accusations that it is insufficiently bold, admitted that he has changed his position on federal subsidies for the energy industry, and again slammed rival Mitt Romney on the issue of "consistency."

Asked by host Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday to explain why his new economic plan only promises the creation of 2.5 million jobs -- not as ambitious a number as many economic experts would like -- Perry said that any increase in job creation is a good one. 

"I think it's amazing that people, when we've lost 2.5 million jobs in this country and there is another state that is juxtapositioned to that that created a million jobs, and for people to go 'Well, that's not enough,' he said. "Let me tell you, any jobs at this particular point in time helps." 

As First Read wrote earlier this week, Perry's goal translates into about 52,000 new jobs per month over a four-year term -- a pace that current President Barack Obama currently matches. And it wouldn't likely be enough to make a dent in the unemployment rate, considering 14 million remain unemployed.

But on Sunday, Perry called the idea that his plan could actually result in an uptick in the unemployment rate "absolutely false on its face."

"The idea that I'm going to let people talk this plan down for the sake of just having an intellectual discussion, that's not correct," Perry said. 

The Texas governor, who has made the elimination of federal subsidies for the energy industry a key part of his energy plan, was also pressed to explain a letter he wrote to the Department of Energy in 2008 requesting government assistance for a nuclear power facility in his home state. 

"We were asking at that particular point in time for the federal government to support the nuclear power industry in the state of Texas or across the country from that standpoint," he said. "But from a general standpoint, any type of federal dollars flowing into these industries we think is bad public policy." 

"I've changed my position from the standpoint of having any desire to have the federal government" participate in subsidies, Perry continued. "I've learned some things over the course of the years, and what I've learned is the federal government, you keep them out of these issues, particularly on the energy side." 

Perry, who has tried to highlight rival Romney's policy flip-flops on the campaign trail, again challenged the former Massachusetts governor on "consistency" and hinted at future negative attacks by exposing "the truth." 

"I don't get confused with just telling the truth. Someone might say that's negative," he said of how prepared his campaign is to attack Romney outright. "If we're telling the truth about someone, the truth is the truth whether it hurts your feelings or not."

Striking an optimistic tone about his opportunities to recover from a dizzying plunge in the polls, Perry suggested that he will take a slow-and-steady approach to a contest that is "not yet settled." 

"Don't sprint it, just take a nice easy run at it and continue to stay focused and take your message to the people," he said. 

WASHINGTON and SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum blamed a suicide bombing that killed 12 Americans yesterday in Afghanistan, in part, on President Obama.

"I think this is part of the consequences" of giving a timeline for when U.S. troops will leave Afghanistan, Santorum said yesterday at a fundraising dinner for Congressman Steve King (R-IA).

“[T]his is a dangerous enemy that has something that no enemy of the United States should have,” Santorum said, “And it was given to them by President Obama. And that is hope. They were given hope because the President of the United States said that he’s putting a timeline as to when American troops were going to leave. Once he’s done that, once he did that, he gave the enemy the hope that if they simply survive until then and maintain some level of activity that America will leave, and I think the best thing we can do for our troops is give them the best possible chance for success. And this President has not--, and I think this is part of the consequences.”

The suicide car bombing was “the single deadliest assault on Americans in the capital since the war began,” the New York Times writes.

Despite the death of Osama bin Laden, Anwar al-Awlaki, and the ouster of Moammar Khaddafy, Santorum derided President Obama as a “weak horse” on foreign affairs.

“America’s foreign policy, it is pathetic,” Santorum said. "And as a result, we are vulnerable. We haven’t seen it yet, but it’s only a matter of time before a weak America is going to be preyed upon, because they do not believe this president has the ability or the courage to stand up and fight for ourselves.”

Santorum said, if he were president, “[W]e would commit ourselves to success in Afghanistan.”

What would constitute success in Afghanistan and when would U.S. soldiers leave under a President Santorum? 

“Success would be very clearly defined as the Taliban being, the threat of the Taliban would be diminished to the point it would not be significant to the security of the country of Afghanistan,” the former Pennsylvania senator said, adding, “[T]he issue is whether we will have, whatever government left behind, would be stable and secure enough to survive whatever threat. No one can suggest you can eliminate a threat, but you can reduce it to where it is not significant and once we have that accomplished, then we pull back and transition out of the country.”

CARROLL, Iowa -- Ron Paul outlined what he believed was the difference between “Occupy Wall Street” and the “Tea Party.”

“Some are demonstrating, because they’re scared to death they won’t get their handouts,” Paul said yesterday. “And the other half are demonstrating, because they’re sick and tired of paying for it. I’m on the side of sick and tired of paying for it.”

Paul's popularity has risen since 2008 largely because of the Tea Party. He doesn't lead in polling in any state, but he is routinely in the top three in states like Iowa and New Hampshire.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry will participate in at least five additional debates, the Perry campaign confirmed to NBC News yesterday.

The governor will participate in the following debates in the month of November and the beginning of December: CNBC in Michigan (Nov. 9), CBS in South Carolina (Nov. 12), a Family Leader forum in Iowa (Nov. 19), and CNN-sponsored debates in DC (Nov. 15), and Arizona (Dec. 1).

AP first reported the news.

Sources in Perry’s campaign have expressed frustration with the extensive schedule of contests, noting the time it takes to travel to each venue and prepare the candidate reduces the amount of time Perry can spend interacting with voters.

But Perry himself said Friday in New Hampshire that he intended to participate in future contests, joking, "Shoot, I may be a good debater before this is all over."

"We haven't made any decisions about what we're gonna do," he said Friday.

Spokesman Ray Sullivan told NBC News earlier this week that the campaign would decide on future debates "on a case by case basis."

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Despite largely ignoring the key early nominating states in recent weeks, Herman Cain’s campaign indicated this week it plans to dial down the Republican presidential candidate's schedule.

And Cain’s day on the trail on Saturday might give a glimpse into why.

In one day, Cain won a straw poll, predicted victory in a primary, scolded unruly Ron Paul supporters, and flipped a quarter at midfield before a college football game.

The former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza held eight public events in his two-day swing through Alabama. Saturday night he headed to Washington, DC, for an appearance on CBS’s “Face The Nation” this morning.

Cain has spent the past two weeks clarifying his stance on issues like abortion, where during an television interview he seemed to say the government should not play a role in regulating women who wish to have the procedure.

“For example, in retrospect, doing a taped interview following a debate, following some interviews probably wasn't a good idea,” he said, referring to his appearance on Piers Morgan where he made the comments, “because you know I'm only a human being, and you reach a point where if you get too tired you're not on your A game.”

On Thursday, Cain needed to turn to a handler to figure out where he was the night before. The answer was Arkansas.

"I wouldn't say we're going to dial it down,” Cain said. “We're going to be more deliberate on the type of things we do when I've had a very full schedule.”

Yesterday, a normally unseen side of Cain’s came to light at the West Alabama State Straw Poll, when a he told the vocal Ron Paul contingent in attendance to stop interrupting his speech.

Cain, the only candidate to attend, was noticeably testy with the heavily pro-Paul audience that packed the crowd. While listing the crises the nation faces, a Paul supporter yelled, "The Fed," to which Cain told her, "I will be giving this speech, not you."

Cain, a former member of the board of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank, was also booed for saying the Fed can be fixed without being ended.

Still, Cain went on to win the poll with more than a majority of the vote. Paul garnered support from 45% of attendees for second place. Later that evening a Des Moines Register Poll was released that had Cain leading Romney among likely Iowa caucus goers.

At his next stop at Samford University, Cain declared he would win the South Carolina primary.

"I predict that we will win South Carolina,” he said. “I predict that we will finish 1st or 2nd in Iowa, 1st or 2nd in New Hampshire, not going to go out on a limb there, but I predict we will win South Carolina."

From there, he campaigned throughout campus, with throngs of students and supporters lining up to shake his hand and get a picture. He was introduced before the university’s football game and did the coin toss. Samford lost to Western Carolina University.

On Friday, Cain spoke to a crowd of about 100 at the Annistan Tea Party breakfast. He said he would cut 10% from all federal agencies by executive order. Then his cabinet members would need to find another 10% to cut. He said he would give federal workers the choice of early retirement or reassignment.

"Who said anything about firing federal workers?" Cain said. "I'm going to give them a choice: early retirement or reassignment. They say where are you going to reassign them? I understand that there's an empty building in Nome, Alaska. It's their choice."

Throughout his time in the state, Cain faced the same question: Why Alabama?

At his final event here, Cain signaled he plans to be in the race for the long run, which is why he is spending time in a state that doesn’t hold its primary until March.

“I don’t want to wait until March to come to Alabama and let you know what I stand for,” he said.

Cain surrogate Dale Peterson, the failed candidate for Alabama Agriculture Commissioner and YouTube star, defended Cain being in Alabama.

"Why not Alabama?” Peterson told NBC News. “Don't we count? I know we do. And in Alabama we give a rip about who's going to be president."

OSKALOOSA, Iowa—Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann waded into a sensitive area of immigration policy Saturday during a somewhat charged exchange at a campaign stop in southeast Iowa.

Bachmann entered an extended exchange with a college student (and Democrat) over how to handle the immigrants who are brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

After finishing a speech that focused in part on repealing the federal health care law and overhauling the tax code, Bachmann opened the floor to questions from the 100 or so people gathered at Smokey Row restaurant.

A 19 year-old college student, identifying himself as Latino, asked what Bachmann would “do to” the children of illegal immigrants.

Bachmann responded that she is “not doing anything to them,” and described why she is against the federal government rewarding citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants.

“Their parents are the ones who brought them here,” Bachmann said.

"They did not have the legal right to come to the United States," Bachmann added, of the parents.  "We do not owe people who broke our laws to come into the country.  We don’t owe them anything.”

Bachmann went on to draw a parallel to her own family’s journey to the United States more than 150 years ago.

"I dare say that probably every single person in this room descends from immigrants,” Bachmann said.

“I did—my immigrant family came here in the 1850s, and they came into the United States legally.  They received zero benefits.”

The exchange was somewhat charged, because the student, Roy Aguillon, cast the question in personal terms.

“These guys were my friends," Aguillon said.  "They are the guys who sit next to me in class, who I see in Walmart.”

Aguillon, who is from San Antonio and is a student at nearby William Penn University, is a second-generation American citizen and is active in local politics—serving as the vice president of the College & Young Democrats of Iowa.

In an interview with NBC News, Aguillon said he didn't intend to draw Bachmann into a discussion about the DREAM Act—legislation which would offer benefits, including citizenship, to the children of illegal immigrants.

Instead, he says, he was looking for a practical answer for young illegals, given Bachmann's hard line position.

“These guys don’t know anything else," Aguillon said during his interview with NBC.  "What are you going to do, send them back to Mexico?  The place is basically in the middle of a drug war.”

Aguillon says he didn’t attend the event to raise trouble, and despite his leadership role in the Iowa College Democrats, he would consider voting Republican in 2012.

He complains that President Obama abandoned the DREAM Act, and hasn’t been hard enough on Wall Street.  He says, of Obama: “He’s not enough of a fighter to be my president right now.”

Despite the personal tone of their exchange, Aguillon and Bachmann chatted following the event, and they posed for pictures together afterward, along with Aguillon's girlfriend.

As the campaign team left the restaurant, Iowa state co-chair Brad Zaun, a state senator from Urbandale, pulled him aside.

“Thanks for your honesty,” Zaun said.

Brian Ray / AP

Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain campaigns outside of Kinnick stadium in Iowa City, Iowa, on Oct. 22.

DES MOINES, Iowa—The two candidates who least frequently visit Iowa are currently leading in the race to win the state's January caucuses, the new Des Moines Register poll showed Saturday evening.

Former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain leads the Republican presidential field in the Hawkeye State, narrowly surpassing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for the top spot, according to the poll conducted this past week.

The highly regarded Iowa Poll shows Cain with 23 percent and Romney at 22 percent among likely caucus-goers ahead of Jan. 3's caucuses, the first nominating contest of the 2012 cycle. Cain has seen his stock rise by 13 percentage points since the last edition of the poll; Romney only dropped one percent despite the fact that neither candidate has visited Iowa more than once since the weekend of August 12th.

The advantage for Cain and Romney seems unusual in a state that typically prides itself on retail politics.

"Iowans seem to be saying 'we've tried politicians, it's time to shift gears and try a CEO to run our country.'  The more desperate our country's financial situation, the more voters are looking for someone from the business world who can turn this ship around," said Steve Grubbs, Cain's Iowa state chairman.

As a matter of comparison, Romney led the field — at 29 percent - to former Arkansas governor and eventual caucus-winner Mike Huckabee's 12 percent in the October 2007 edition of the same poll.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul places third in the Register’s poll, with 12 percent, followed by Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann at 8 percent, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry tied at 7 percent, former Sen. Rick Santorum at 5 percent, and finally former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman at 1 percent.

The Iowa Poll suggests a slight shift within the margin-of-error in the race for Iowa's caucuses since the NBC News/Marist poll was conducted at the beginning of the month. Romney led at 23 percent to Cain's 20 percent in that poll, conducted Oct. 3-5.

Bachmann, who is staking her campaign on Iowa, has dropped 14 percentage points since June and into fourth place. This news comes after winning the Ames Straw Poll and spending a lot of time in the state, including recently expanding her staff here.

"Poll numbers have bounced up and down on weekly, sometimes daily basis. We’ll see much more of that before caucus night but one thing I’m convinced of is that Michele Bachmann will come out on top in on Jan. 3," said Bachmann's Iowa campaign manager Eric Woolson.

It has been four months since the Register released its last poll. The June poll had Romney leading in the state with 23 percent—just in front of Bachmann, who jumped in the race two days after the poll came out, at 22 percent. Perry had yet to throw his hat in the ring.

Though Perry joined the race just over two months ago, both he and his wife, Anita, have made quite a few trips here, yet Perry is tied for fifth place with Gingrich.

Perhaps the most disappointing showing, at least in terms of time spent in Iowa, has to be for the former Pennsylvania senator, Santorum. He will be the only candidate to visit all of Iowa’s 99 counties as of Wednesday, but still remains at the bottom of the poll.

The Register’s poll was based on telephone interviews Oct. 23-26 with 400 likely Republican caucus-goers, and has a margin of error plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

Congressman Ron Paul won yet another straw poll today, receiving an astounding 82% of the Iowan-only vote at National Federation of Republican Assemblies first ever-presidential straw poll. 

The Paul campaign has showed a tendency to make an effort above and beyond other campaigns to organize around straw polls. For this event, his campaign bought a large number of straw-poll tickets and sold them to supporters for half off the price, just $10.

Alex Moe/NBC News

Rep. Ron Paul speaks to a crowd of hundreds at the NFRA convention. Paul's supporters left when he concluded speech, leaving many empty chairs for other speakers, including Mrs. Anita Perry.

When Paul spoke just after 9:00 am CT, the room was packed with several hundred people. As soon as the Texas representative finished his remarks, there was a mass exodus from the ballroom at the Polk County Convention Complex.

“He has a pretty loyal following and he brought a lot of people in and that’s what they were here for,” Herman Cain supporter and Monroe, Iowa resident Chris Holub told NBC News after the event.

Paul has won a fair share of these small straw polls across the country during the presidential cycle by using the same tactics witnessed today – providing tickets at reduced costs and encouraging people to turn out at events leading up to the poll. 

Cain, whose Iowa campaign also bought tickets for supporters but distributed fewer than the Paul campaign, placed second in the straw poll. Cain received 14% of the Iowan-only vote. NBC’s Anthony Terrell reports the Cain campaign bought 250 tickets and were selling them at the cost of $20, according to an email obtained by NBC News.

But Cain's campaign appeared unable to distribute all of the tickets. During the straw poll, an aide held an envelope with a large amount of free tickets.

Paul, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s wife, Anita, addressed the crowd while former speaker Newt Gingrich sent a video message. Organizers said Cain sent a video message later in the afternoon after voting had concluded to share with the audience.

After Paul and Cain, Santorum received 1% of the Iowan-only vote followed by Gingrich with 0.9%, Michele Bachmann and Perry with 0.5%, and Gary Johnson with .2%. Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman finished at 0%. 

”This country needs to wake up and quit lying to itself whether it’s on the economics or the foreign policy,” Paul told the crowd of roughly 300 people when the convention opened this morning. The crowd dwindled to about 100 after Paul spoke. “What we need is a healthy does of renewal of the spirit of liberty,” he said amidst loud cheers from supporters in the audience.

When Santorum took the stage, he told those who remained that the media was trying to “Huckabee” him and paint him as a social conservative.

“Well, as far as I’m concerned, bring it on,” he said. “I will take every single one of those. I am not ashamed to stand up for life, or family, or faith because they are the foundation of our society.”

It’s unclear, however, why being painted as “Huckabee,” if that were the case, would be a negative in Iowa. Entrance polls in 2008 indicated 60% of GOP caucus goers considered themselves evangelicals.

The First Lady of Texas wrapped up the list of speakers during the morning session. She focused her brief remarks on highlighting her husband’s record, calling him “the conservative leader that America needs.”

“He has taken an unwavering stand in defense of life,” Perry told the crowd just before she listed various bills he signed into law as governor. “For Rick, being pro-life is not a matter of campaign convenience” -- a veiled swipe at Romney -- “it is a core conviction.”

The group’s President Rod Martin told NBC News it wanted to hold this straw poll in Iowa to help retain the state’s importance.

“Not every good candidate starts with a lot of money,” Martin said, “and we want them to be able to be vetted by the people of Iowa.”

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Addressing a gathering of Republican women here, Michele Bachmann said her victory at a straw poll in Iowa, a state with a record of electing fewer female politicians than other states, was evidence that she could win the presidential nomination.

“This is a state that would be least likely to elect a woman and yet they gave me the No. 1 spot overall in the Iowa straw poll,” Bachmann said, referring to the Ames straw poll, held more than two months ago. She cited, as her evidence of Iowa’s inclination against female politicians, the state’s deep conservatism and large elderly population.

In fact, Iowa is one of only two states, Mississippi being the other, which has never elected a woman governor or to Congress. The highest position attained by a woman is lieutenant governor, currently held by Kim Reynolds.

Bachmann experienced a surge in polls after her Ames victory, but her star has fallen since, as voters flocked to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, then businessman Herman Cain. In an NBC/Marist poll of likely South Carolina Republican voters earlier this month, Bachmann received only 5%, tied with Ron Paul for fifth place.

AIKEN, S.C. -– Newt Gingrich targeted his GOP rivals (saying he has deeper knowledge of history than them) and President Obama, insinuating the president did not study American history.

“One of the things that makes me different from my friends,” Gingrich said of his Republican opponents for the nomination, “is I actually studied history. And unlike Obama, who’s clearly a very, very bright person, who graduated from Columbia and graduated from Harvard, I actually studied American history.”

That was greeted with laughs from the approximately 200 members of the Aiken Republican Club.

Obama’s college education has been the subject of conspiracy theories, claiming the president’s studies were concentrated in Marxism, which has led some prominent Republicans, including Donald Trump and Rick Perry, to pick up on the meme and call for the president to release his college transcripts.

Less than 20 minutes after Gingrich questioned the president’s grasp of American history, he invoked Obama’s Ivy League education as he challenged him to a series of Lincoln-Douglas style debates.

“I just think something about that Harvard law school, that Columbia undergraduate, the elegance of the greatest orator of his generation,” Gingrich goaded, “he will just kind of feel compelled to prove he is unafraid,” to participate in a debate.

Gingrich is already planning to take on his primary opponent Herman Cain in such a debate in November, sponsored by the Texas Tea Party Patriots, which is charging between $200 and $1,000 per ticket.

And, of course, while President Obama is the presumptive presidential nominee for his party, Gingrich trails far behind in most polls.

Gingrich also played to the audience on judges, touting the strength and the ability of the executive branch, to “reshape the courts.” If necessary, it could abolish individual courts, Gingrich claimed, based on precedent set by Thomas Jefferson’s Judiciary Act of 1802.

What a presidential candidate will do about judges and justices is a key litmus test for conservative, especially very conservative voters in South Carolina, particularly on issues of abortion and business regulation.

During his speech, Gingrich also contrasted his ideas with those of his opponents, although he didn’t mention any of them by name.  He cited his experience as Speaker of the House of Representatives when explaining why his plan to balance the budget was better than those of his opponents.

“I have to confess, unlike some of my colleagues,” Gingrich said, “I don't have any consultants on balancing the budget. And I don’t have any talking points. I just have a decade of experience actually doing it.”

Gingrich saw a mass exodus of consultants and aides back in June and is $1.2 million in debt.

Gingrich also mentioned he will be making speeches soon in Iowa and South Carolina that will unveil his plan for brain-science research, an issue he frequently mentions on the trail. Because the plan will involve investment in research and development, Gingrich said it will “initially confuse many conservative intellectuals, because one of the things you can’t get across in Washington is the concept of investment. Everything is a cost.”

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Submitting his wife’s filing papers for the primary, Marcus Bachmann dismissed a Tea Party leader’s call for Rep. Michele Bachmann to drop out of the presidential race, saying she and the Tea Party are a good match.

“Of course you’ll get some people who will say--, and have a different view," said Marcus Bachmann after he completed filing paperwork at the South Carolina Republican Party headquarters here. "But if you really study and understand who Michele Bachmann is and who the Tea Party is, it’s a tremendous match."

On Thursday, Ned Ryun, president of a group called American Majority and son of former Kansas Rep. Jim Ryun, wrote, “It’s time for Michele Bachmann to go," because, he said she is spending too much time talking about social issues -- something that is not in line with the Tea Party's fiscal focus.

Marcus Bachmann also said there was “nothing mysterious” about the fact that the campaign’s entire New Hampshire staff quit last week.

“Staff changes do happen," he said, "and I think that there’s nothing too mysterious about that occurring."

And when asked whether Rep. Bachmann would stay in the race past the Iowa caucus if she doesn’t win that contest, Marcus expressed optimism that she would.

“I think, as we’ve done our research," he said, "we would humbly say that Iowa is going to be a winning state for Michele. I have not heard of anything other than keep going ahead."

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- On a day in which his Republican rivals took sharp aim at his reputation for political shape-shifting, Mitt Romney stayed true to one guiding, absolute principle of his campaign: Keep the focus on the president.

"Watching the president, he's blamed George W. Bush, Republicans, Congress, I don't know -- ATM machines. He looks for someone to blame," Romney said of the President Obama’s role in the country's economic woes. "The president should take responsibility, His economic plans didn't work. He borrowed $787 billion up there, and said it would hold unemployment below 8%. It has not been below 8% since--. He set the bogey. He missed it. He failed."

With two other major candidates prowling the backyard of the state where Romney holds his most commanding lead, the friendly crowd here with mostly economic questions put a positive cap on a day in which Romney was largely a target of attacks, not applause.

This morning, Romney found his New Hampshire fortress under assault by the man his campaign still treats as his primary rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

Perry, in the state to file his primary paperwork, fired off the first shot at Romney during a radio interview this afternoon.

"Like it or not, the governor has been on opposite sides on a lot of issues," Perry said. "He was for banning handguns; now he's Mr. Second Amendment. He was the father of Obamacare."

Jon Huntsman's campaign joined the pile-on later this afternoon, releasing a Web video entitled, "Backflip," juxtaposing Romney's positions this cycle on issues like abortion and gun control with comments he made in Massachusetts races-past, and calling Romney out for what Team Huntsman described as failures to lead.

Perry and Huntsman weren't Romney's only antagonists today. Romney's own recent comments, this time on climate change, came back to haunt him after Web video, shot by a tracker from a Democratic group showing Romney speaking at a fundraiser yesterday, was posted online.

In the video, Romney, who was speaking at a private fundraiser the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, said, "My view is that we don't know what's causing climate change on this planet, and the idea of spending trillions and trillions of dollars to try to reduce CO2 emissions is not the right course for us. My view with regards to energy policy is pretty straightforward: I want us to become energy secure and independent of the oil cartels."

Democratic groups seized on the comments, noting the rhetorical contrast with Romney's statements earlier this summer, including at a town hall here in New Hampshire, in which he professed to believe that climate change was happening, and that human beings probably contributed to it, but that, as a layman, not a scientist, he did not know to what degree either was the case.

While his language has changed, Romney's actual policy prescription regarding energy and climate change has remained consistent this cycle. He says he favors developing both conventional and renewable energy sources, and routinely lambastes cap-and-trade programs, but the comments provided fodder for the recurring narrative of Romney as a politician who will shape his comments to his audience. It also provided cover for other campaigns to point out Romney supported stringent air-quality standards on power plants while governor of Massachusetts, regulations similar to those which he now opposes.

"Mitt Romney's positions change, often dramatically, depending on the audience or location," Perry spokesman Ray Sullivan said in a statement released earlier today. "Voters need to consider the fact that Romney, in one week, changed positions on manmade global warming, capping carbon emissions, and Ohio's efforts to curb union powers."

In a statement, Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul called those charges "ridiculous," and blamed the controversy on "hot air coming from career politicians who are desperate to hold on to power."

Back at the town hall, which the campaign says is Romney's 15th in the Granite State, the candidate offered responses to voters questions on debt reduction, gas prices and “Occupy Wall Street” that may open up future controversies.

Romney, who last week voiced strong opposition to President Obama's decision to remove all forces from Iraq by the end of 2011 and has argued against pulling troops out of Afghanistan before December 2012, cited the end of both wars as part of a strategy to bring down government spending.

"Part of that will happen as we complete our missions in Iraq and Afghanistan because that's a portion of [reducing spending]," Romney said.

Asked if he would open the ANWR reserve in Alaska for oil drilling, Romney said he would, and that he would consider going one step further, opening up drilling on the continental shelf, including off the coast of Florida, a proposal he acknowledged has been unpopular there before because of fears of an oil spill.

"But if you say to the people in Florida, instead of the royalties going to the federal government, for oil drilling, how about it goes to the state?” Romney said. “Then they may change their minds in that regard. We'll let them; we'll let them opine on what they think is the right thing to do.”

Romney also suggested that any embrace of the “Occupy Wall Street” Movement by President Obama would be an awkward one, and that President Obama was at least, in part, responsible for the protest movement's very existence.

"If we had 6% unemployment instead of 9.1% unemployment,” he said, “this wouldn't be going on. So if we had a president who had understood what it took to reboot the economy and get us back to work, we wouldn't have this problem. We wouldn't have people protesting, because they'd be working. So, for the president to suggest, yeah, you guys, we're with you. It's like wait a second, Mr. President, they're protesting, in part, because of your failure."

And while Romney never mentioned any of his GOP rivals by name tonight, he did take what could be perhaps considered a parting shot at Perry.

Asked who he would be supporting in the deciding game of the World Series tonight, Romney said he's be backing the St. Louis Cardinals, who face off against Perry's beloved Texas Rangers in Game Seven.