Updated 1:02 p.m. - WASHINGTON -- Paul Ryan added a personal dimension to his attacks on President Barack Obama, using his own Catholic faith to criticize the president for having impinged upon the freedom of religion.

In a speech before activists at the annual Values Voter Summit -- interrupted twice by hecklers -- Ryan leveled attacks on Obama's foreign, economic and social policy.

"In the president’s telling, government is a big, benevolent presence -- gently guiding our steps at every turn.  In reality, when government enters the picture, private institutions are so often brushed aside with suspicion or even contempt," Ryan said at the annual Values Voter Summit. "This is what happened to the Catholic Church and Catholic Charities this past January, when the new mandates of Obamacare started coming."

The Republican vice presidential nominee continued: "Never mind your own conscience, they were basically told, from now on you’re going to do things the government’s way. Ladies and gentlemen, you would be hard pressed to find another group in America that does more to serve the health of women and their babies than the Catholic Church and Catholic Charities.  And now, suddenly, we have Obamacare bureaucrats presuming to dictate how they will do it." 

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Ryan, who had agreed to address the nearly 2,000 person conference prior to being named as Mitt Romney's running mate, assured the crowd a Romney administration would give freedom back to religious institutions. Republicans have argued religious freedom has come under "attack" under the Obama administration, particularly due to a regulation requiring employers to cover contraception as part of their health insurance, even if it is an employer affiliated with a religion that might have philosophical objections to the use of contraception.

"As Governor Romney has said, this mandate is not a threat and insult to one religious group -- it is a threat and insult to every religious group. He and I are honored to stand with you -- people of faith and concerned citizens -- in defense of religious liberty," he said. “And I can assure you, when Mitt Romney is elected, we will get to work on day one to repeal that mandate and all of Obamacare.“

The House majority leader, Eric Cantor (R-VA), echoed this theme during his remarks at the event co-hosted by the Family Research Council.

"Sadly today, as a result of Obamacare, many of our fellow Americans are now being forced to take our government to court, to sue them, to sue our government in order to practice our faith. Now this is not what America is about and this is why we must repeal Obamacare once and for all," Cantor said, adding: "This is why we need a president and a senate who will stand up with us – who will stand strong for religious freedom."

Related: Obama to campaign in Wisconsin

Religion wasn't the only focus of Ryan's nearly 30-minute speech. He also wadded into foreign policy just three days after the attacks on the US consulate in Libya and US embassy in Egypt.

"Look across that region today, and what do we see? The slaughter of brave dissidents in Syria. Mobs storming American embassies and consulates. Iran four years closer to gaining a nuclear weapon. Israel, our best ally in the region, treated with indifference bordering on contempt by the Obama administration," Ryan said. 

"Amid all these threats and dangers, what we do not see is steady, consistent American leadership. In the days ahead, and in the years ahead, American foreign policy needs moral clarity and firmness of purpose," he continued. "Only by the confident exercise of American influence are evil and violence overcome.  That is how we keep problems abroad from becoming crises. That is what keeps the peace. And that is what we will have in a Romney-Ryan administration."

There was no shortage in Ryan’s speech of new, quick attack lines on President Obama, either.
 
“No politician is more skilled at striking heroic poses against imaginary adversaries,” Ryan claimed. “Nobody is better at rebuking nonexistent opinions.  Barack Obama does this all the time, and in this campaign we are calling him on it.”

Obama spokesman Danny Kanner responded: "Mitt Romney chose Paul Ryan to be his running mate because he’s the intellectual leader of the Republican Party. That leadership included a budget that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said failed a ‘basic moral test.’ Today, speaking at a values summit, he unleashed a series of over-the-top, dishonest attacks against the President that once again reminded voters that he’s just not ready for prime time. In the not too distant past, Mitt Romney and Congressman Ryan said they wanted a serious debate on substantive issues. We’re still waiting."

FAIRFAX, VA -- Mitt Romney kept up with his criticism of President Barack Obama's handling of a diplomatic crisis in Libya, but softened his tone ever so slightly amid scrutiny of the GOP presidential candidate's initial criticism of the president.

“As we watch the world today, sometimes it seems that we’re at the mercy of events, instead of shaping events, and a strong America is essential to shape events. And a strong American, by the way, depends on a strong military," Romney said, launching into a critique of pending military budget cuts.

"The world needs American leadership. The Middle East needs American leadership," Romney continued. "And I intend to be a President that provides the leadership that America respects and will keep us admired throughout the world.”

Romney's words, a day after a coordinated assault on a diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, left America's ambassador to that country, Christopher Stevens, and three other Americans dead, represent a downshift in rhetoric from Wednesday.

Related: Romney ratchets up criticism of Obama on initial response to embassy attacks

Yesterday, Romney followed a harshly written statement criticizing the administration -- released as events were still unfolding at an American consulate under attack in Libya -- with a press conference doubling down on what he called a weak response by the Obama White House. Today, Romney's only overt mention of Libya and the death of the U.S. ambassador and four others there, was a statement of mourning and an attempted moment of silence which was disrupted by a protester.

"I also recognize that right now were in mourning, we've lost four of our diplomats across the world. We're thinking about their families and those that they've left behind," Romney said as a protester ripped a Romney sign in half and began shouting at Romney for politicizing the attacks in Libya. "I would offer a moment of silence but one gentleman doesn't want to be silent so were going to keep on going."

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The GOP contender returned to firmer footing today in the shadow of the nation's capital by renewing his economic attacks on the president, accusing Obama of failing to offer any new ideas to fix a troubled economy, and attempting to claim the mantle of change.

"His policies have not worked. How in the world he can go before a Democrat convention and speak to the nation and offer nothing but more of the same is beyond me," Romney said. "We want real change.  I’m going to bring real change and get America working again.”

Nicholas Kamm / AFP - Getty Images

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney greets supporters after speaking at a campaign rally in Fairfax, Va., on September 13, 2012.

"These policies won’t make America stronger- they’re part of the same formula that crashed the economy and devastated the middle class in the first place. America can’t afford to go back," said Lis Smith, an Obama campaign spokeswoman, in response.

Surrounded on stage by women, and introduced by four female speakers, Romney's intended audience today was clear. Polling has indicated Romney consistently trailing Obama with women voters, but several recent surveys have shown the challenger gaining some support.

FAIRBORN, OH -- The morning after a mob in Libya killed four Americans at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazzi, a subdued Joe Biden paid tribute to the dead and promised justice for their killers.

"These men are as brave and as courageous as any of our warriors that we’ve sent," Biden said of the four Americans killed, first noting that the late Ambassador Chris Stevens fought for the liberation of the Libyan people.

"The cause to which they dedicated their lives and gave their lives, democracy, partnership, tolerance, stands in sharp contrast to the values of those who callously took their lives," he said. "And let me be clear, we are resolved to bring to justice their killers."

The vice president also called for recognition of all foreign service officers, whose jobs often put them in danger and whose careers aren't "all about going to coffees and teas."

"As we always have, Americans must be steadfast, resolved and committed in the face of such horrific events," he added. "We never have been and we will not be run off, period."

Biden, who appeared at a campaign rally at Wright State University in Fairborn, Ohio (which he at one point mistook for Michigan's Wayne State), offered fewer of his red meat lines than usual, barely mentioning opponents Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan by name.

But he did pivot from his recognition of the Middle East conflict to his stump speech by drawing an implicit contrast with Romney over the GOP's ticket's view of foreign policy as a "sidelight."

"Foreign policy is not some sidelight to all of this," he said. "And you deserve all of America deserve leaders who will tell you what they intend to do in both spheres."

The political fallout associated with the attacks Tuesday on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi that left four dead, including an American ambassador, was the product of a fluid and quickly evolving situation on the ground in Egypt and Libya.

Jason Reed / Reuters

President Barack Obama delivers a statement alongside Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, following the death of the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and others, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, September 12, 2012.

At the heart of Mitt Romney's criticism of President Barack Obama (for "apologizing for the right of free speech") was a statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Egypt on Tuesday as protests there and in Libya crept up in reaction to a controversial film about the Islamic prophet Muhammad, a clip of which was set for screening by the Florida pastor Terry Jones.

Read the main story: US won't rule out Islamist militant link to attack on US consulate in Libya

At 6:17 a.m. ET on Tuesday, the U.S. Embassy in Egypt released this statement:

The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims – as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions. Today, the 11th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Americans are honoring our patriots and those who serve our nation as the fitting response to the enemies of democracy. Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy. We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others.

At a 1 p.m. ET briefing, State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland confirmed that the U.S. Embassy in Cairo had suffered a breach – around noon ET:

We did have reports just before I came down here that we had a protest outside our embassy in Cairo. We had some people breach the wall, take the flag down, replace it -- what I heard was that it was replaced with a ... With a black flag -- a plain black flag, but I may not be correct in that. We are obviously working with Egyptian security to try to restore order at the embassy and to work with them to try to get the situation under control. 

By mid-afternoon Tuesday, this statement provoked criticism from some conservative bloggers, who characterized it as an "apology" for American values (i.e., free speech) rather than a strong condemnation of the protests, which would later metastasize into attacks on those diplomatic missions. Conservatives furthermore suggested that it was no coincidence that these demonstrations were occurring on the 11-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks on New York and Washington.

Related: Romney ratchets up criticism of Obama on initial response to embassy attacks

Through it all, the situation on the ground in Egypt and Libya was changing rapidly. NBC News and other news organizations were monitoring reports that the situation in both countries was potentially deteriorating.

At 4:29 p.m. ET, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo issued a series of tweets, some of which simultaneously defended its earlier statement and condemned the compound attackers. The Romney campaign seized on these tweets to argue that the original statement had remained the embassy’s policy even after the breach:

2) Of course we condemn breaches of our compound, we're the ones actually living through this.

3) Sorry, but neither breaches of our compound or angry messages will dissuade us from defending freedom of speech AND criticizing bigotry

At 6:25 p.m. ET, Nuland confirmed, via email, that the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, was under attack:

“We can confirm that our office in Benghazi, Libya has been attacked by a group of militants.  We are working with the Libyans now to secure the compound. We condemn in strongest terms this attack on our diplomatic mission.”

At 6:32 p.m. ET, Nuland said that demonstrators had been removed from the Cairo compound. There was no indication at this point whether there was a connection between the Cairo and Benghazi incidents:

“In Cairo, we can confirm that Egyptian police have now removed the demonstrators who had entered our Embassy grounds earlier today.”

As the evening progressed, vague reports emerged suggesting that an "American" had been killed in the Libya assault, though there was no indication of that person's identity. It had been emphasized to news organizations that the situation in Libya was fluid.

Slideshow: U.S. posts attacked in Libya and Egypt

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The U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed after protesters angry over a film that ridiculed Islam's Prophet Muhammad stormed the U.S. consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi.

Launch slideshow

At 10:10 p.m. ET, the Romney campaign emailed a statement from the Republican presidential nominee to media organizations about the violence in both countries, reporting of which was prohibited (or "embargoed") until 12 a.m. ET Wednesday:

“I'm outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi. It's disgraceful that the Obama Administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks.”

At around the same time, POLITICO posted a story featuring a quote from a "senior administration official" appearing to disavow the statements from Cairo. This would emerge as fodder for Romney on Wednesday:

"The statement by Embassy Cairo was not cleared by Washington and does not reflect the views of the United States government," an administration official told POLITICO.

At 10:13 p.m. ET, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton issued the following statement:

I condemn in the strongest terms the attack on our mission in Benghazi today. As we work to secure our personnel and facilities, we have confirmed that one of our State Department officers was killed.  We are heartbroken by this terrible loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and those who have suffered in this attack. 

This evening, I called Libyan President Magariaf to coordinate additional support to protect Americans in Libya. President Magariaf expressed his condemnation and condolences and pledged his government's full cooperation.  

Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet. The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. Our commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation. But let me be clear: There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind. 

In light of the events of today, the United States government is working with partner countries around the world to protect our personnel, our missions, and American citizens worldwide.

At 10:26 p.m. ET, the Romney campaign lifted its embargo on the GOP candidate's statement.

At 11:11 p.m. ET, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus tweeted the following:

Obama sympathizes with attackers in Egypt. Sad and pathetic.

At 12:11 a.m. ET, Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt issued the following statement:

“We are shocked that, at a time when the United States of America is confronting the tragic death of one of our diplomatic officers in Libya, Governor Romney would choose to launch a political attack.”

At 6:17 a.m. ET, NBC News confirmed and reported that U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens was among those killed at the mission in Benghazi.

At 7:22 a.m. ET, President Obama issued the following statement:

I strongly condemn the outrageous attack on our diplomatic facility in Benghazi, which took the lives of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. Right now, the American people have the families of those we lost in our thoughts and prayers. They exemplified America's commitment to freedom, justice, and partnership with nations and people around the globe, and stand in stark contrast to those who callously took their lives.

I have directed my Administration to provide all necessary resources to support the security of our personnel in Libya, and to increase security at our diplomatic posts around the globe. While the United States rejects efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others, we must all unequivocally oppose the kind of senseless violence that took the lives of these public servants.

On a personal note, Chris was a courageous and exemplary representative of the United States. Throughout the Libyan revolution, he selflessly served our country and the Libyan people at our mission in Benghazi. As Ambassador in Tripoli, he has supported Libya's transition to democracy. His legacy will endure wherever human beings reach for liberty and justice. I am profoundly grateful for his service to my Administration, and deeply saddened by this loss.

The brave Americans we lost represent the extraordinary service and sacrifices that our civilians make every day around the globe. As we stand united with their families, let us now redouble our own efforts to carry their work forward.

At 7:43 a.m. ET, Secretary Clinton issued the following statement:

It is with profound sadness that I share the news of the death of four American personnel in Benghazi, Libya yesterday. Among them were United States Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and Foreign Service Information Management Officer, Sean Smith.  We are still making next of kin notifications for the other two individuals. Our hearts go out to all their families and colleagues.

A 21 year veteran of the Foreign Service,  Ambassador Stevens died last night from injuries he sustained in the attack on our office in Benghazi.  

I had the privilege of swearing in Chris for his post in Libya only a few months ago. He spoke eloquently about his passion for service, for diplomacy and for the Libyan people. This assignment was only the latest in his more than two decades of dedication to advancing closer ties with the people of the Middle East and North Africa which began as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco.  As the conflict in Libya unfolded, Chris was one of the first Americans on the ground in Benghazi. He risked his own life to lend the Libyan people a helping hand to build the foundation for a new, free nation. He spent every day since helping to finish the work that he started. Chris was committed to advancing America's values and interests, even when that meant putting himself in danger.

Sean Smith was a husband and a father of two, who joined the Department ten years ago. Like Chris, Sean was one of our best.  Prior to arriving in Benghazi, he served in Baghdad, Pretoria, Montreal, and most recently The Hague.

All the Americans we lost in yesterday's attacks made the ultimate sacrifice. We condemn this vicious and violent attack that took their lives, which they had committed to helping the Libyan people reach for a better future.

America's diplomats and development experts stand on the front lines every day for our country. We are honored by the service of each and every one of them.

Around 9 a.m. ET, a senior administration official described to NBC News the process by which the president was notified and briefed:

The president was informed of the Libya situation by NSA Donilon yesterday afternoon as he started his weekly meeting with the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. The President was updated on both incidents several times throughout the evening and again this morning.

The president was notified last night that Ambassador Stevens was unaccounted for and then notified again this morning about his tragic death.

In the same hour, Clinton appeared on camera at the State Department to make remarks about Stevens's death. She said (excerpt):

This is an attack that should shock the conscience of people of all faiths around the world. We condemn in the strongest terms, this senseless act of violence and we send our prayers to the families, friends and colleagues of those we've lost.

All over the world every day, America's diplomats and development experts risk their lives in the service of our country and our values because they believe that the United States must be a force for peace and progress in the world, that these aspirations are worth striving and sacrificing for. Alongside our men and women in uniform, they represent the best traditions of a bold and generous nation.

In the lobby of this building, the State Department, the names of those who have fallen in the line of duty are inscribed in marble. Our hearts break over each one. And now because of this tragedy, we have new heroes to honor and more friends to mourn.

Around the same time, Romney re-arranged a planned rally in Jacksonville, Fla., to hold a 10:16 a.m. ET press conference, used in part to reiterate his criticism of Obama.

Some of Romney's statements include:

America will not tolerate attacks against our citizens and against our embassies. We'll defend also our constitutional rights of speech and assembly and religion.

We have confidence in our cause in America. We respect our Constitution. We stand for the principles our Constitution protects. We encourage other nations to understand and respect the principles of our Constitution, because we recognize that these principles are the ultimate source of freedom for individuals around the world.

I also believe the administration was wrong to stand by a statement sympathizing with those who had breached our embassy in Egypt, instead of condemning their actions. It's never too early for the United States government to condemn attacks on Americans and to defend our values.

The White House distanced itself last night from the statement, saying it wasn't cleared by Washington. That reflects the mixed signals they're sending to the world.

[...]

I think it's a terrible course for America to stand in apology for our values. That instead, when our grounds are being attacked and being breached, that the first response of the United States must be outrage at the breach of the sovereignty of our nation.

An apology for America's values is never the right course.

[...]

The White House also issued a statement saying it tried to distance itself from those comments and said they were not reflective of their views. I had the exact same reaction. These views were inappropriate. They were the wrong course to take when our embassy has been breached by protesters. The first response should not be to say, "Yes, we stand by our comments that -- that suggest that there's something wrong with the right of free speech."

[...]

The president takes responsibility not just for the words that come from his mouth, but also from the words that come from his ambassadors from his administration, from his embassies, from his State Department.

They clearly sent mixed messages to the world and the statement that came from the administration and the embassy is the administration. The statement that came from the administration was a statement which is akin to apology and I think was a severe miscalculation.

At 10:42 a.m. ET, Obama appeared in the Rose Garden to address the incident in Benghazi, but made no reference to Romney's attack. An excerpt:

Every day all across the world, American diplomats and civilians work tirelessly to advance the interests and values of our nation. Often, they are away from their families. Sometimes, they brave great danger.

Yesterday, four of these extraordinary Americans were killed in an attack on our diplomatic post in Benghazi. Among those killed was our ambassador, Chris Stevens, as well as Foreign Service Officer Sean Smith. We are still notifying the families of the others who were killed.

And today, the American people stand united in holding the families of the four Americans in our thoughts and in our prayers.

The United States condemns in the strongest terms this outrageous and shocking attack. We're working with the government of Libya to secure our diplomats. I've also directed my administration to increase our security at diplomatic posts around the world. And make no mistake, we will work with the Libyan government to bring to justice the killers who attacked our people.

Since our founding, the United States has been a nation that respects all faiths. We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. But there is absolutely no justification for this type of senseless violence. None. The world must stand together to unequivocally reject these brutal acts.

Throughout the morning, statements from a variety of lawmakers flowed in, though most Republicans avoided the kind of harsh criticism of Obama voiced most prominently by Romney.

At 12:14 p.m. ET, Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan appeared in Wisconsin to address the Libya situation, though he also avoided direct criticism of Obama.

I want to begin unfortunately on a somber note. We woke up to some pretty disturbing news this morning. I know all Americans today are shocked and saddened by the news from the Middle East. The attacks on our diplomatic missions in Egypt and Libya and the loss of four American lives including our Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. This is outrageous. Our hearts are heavy and our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families and I would just like to ask at this moment that we join together in a moment of silence in memory of them. [MOMENT OF SILENCE] Thank you.  This is a time for healing. It is a time for resolve. And in the face of such a tragedy, we are reminded that the world needs American leadership. And the best guarantee of peace is American strength.

At around 1:04 p.m. ET, Vice President Joe Biden told supporters gathered in Ohio:

"The cause to which they dedicated their lives and gave their lives, democracy, partnership, tolerance, stands in sharp contrast to the values of those who callously took their lives," he said. "And let me be clear, we are resolved to bring to justice their killers."

SHANKSVILLE, PA -- Of all Joe Biden's political skills and foibles, perhaps his most powerful asset was on display in Shanksville, PA on Tuesday: Compassion in the face of others' grief.

Biden, who lost his wife and daughter in a 1972 car accident, commemorated 9/11 victims at the site of the Flight 93 crash and described with heavy emotion the grief he knows their families felt in the aftermath of the terror attacks.

Jeff Swensen / Getty Images

Vice President Joseph Biden speaks at the Flight 93 National Memorial during observances commemorating the eleventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, in Shanksville, Pa, on September 11, 2012.

"No matter how many anniversaries you experience, for at least an instant, the terror of that moment returns, the lingering echo of that phone call, that sense of total disbelief that envelops you," he said. "You feel like you're being sucked into a black hole in the middle of your chest."

"My hope for you all is that as every year passes, the depth of your pain recedes," he continued. "And you find comfort - as I have - genuine comfort in recalling his smile, her laugh, their touch."  

The ceremony, which included a reading of each of the 40 passengers and crew members' names, took place at the still-incomplete memorial in the small Pennsylvania town where the hijacked plane crashed.

Offering comfort on a sparkling morning not unlike the one of the terror attacks, Biden said the nation has not forgotten the heroes' sacrifice.

"They’ve not forgotten the heroism of your husbands, wives, sons daughters, mothers, fathers," he said. "And that what they did for this country is still etched in the minds of not only you, but millions of Americans forever."

Mitt Romney argued Sunday that voters should have enough of a sense of his principles to have confidence in how he'd handle the nitty-gritty details of taxes, spending and health care as president.

The Republican presidential nominee, appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press," argued his plan to cut taxes squares with his vow to achieve a balanced budget by the end of a second hypothetical term, even though achieving those two goals would seem difficult, if not incongruent.

"My tax policy is designed to find a way to encourage more hiring in this country. I'm very concerned that we have 23 million people that are out of work or stopped looking for work or under-employed," Romney told moderator David Gregory. "So everything I want to do with regards to taxation follows simple principles, which is bring our rates down to encourage growth, keep revenue up by limiting deductions and exemptions and make sure we don't put any bigger burden on middle income people. In fact, I want to lower the burden on middle income people."

But Romney has been dogged by criticism that his plan lacks specifics, thereby making it difficult to conceive of how he would be able to reasonably achieve his agenda. 

Romney's tax plan calls for making a 20 percent, across-the-board cut to marginal tax rates while keeping most existing taxes on investment the same (and cutting investment taxes altogether for households earning less than $200,000.) The former Massachusetts governor has argued that if "we limit or eliminate some of the loopholes and deductions at the high end," he could maintain current levels of tax revenue while also stimulating growth.

Related: Romney: President & GOP leaders made 'big mistake' on defense cuts

But, pressed for specifics, Romney resisted, and said his "principles" make up the details of his policy.

"The specifics are these, which is those principles I described are the heart of my policy," he said. "And I've indicated as well that — contrary to what the Democrats are saying — I'm not going to increase the tax burden on middle income families.  It would absolutely be wrong to do that."

The opacity of some of Romney's proposals has invited plenty of scrutiny from Democrats, including President Barack Obama, who seized upon Romney's tax proposals in his convention speech on Thursday.

"When Gov. Romney and his friends in Congress tell us we can somehow lower our deficits by spending trillions more on new tax breaks for the wealthy, well — what'd Bill Clinton call it? You do the arithmetic. You do the math," the president said in Charlotte.

Brian Snyder / Reuters

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney talks briefly with reporters after stopping to buy two pizzas at Lui-Lui restaurant in West Lebanon, New Hampshire September 5, 2012.

Romney shot back Sunday: "I want to make sure people understand, despite what the Democrats said at their convention, I am not reducing taxes on high income taxpayers."

Speaking of those conventions, Romney said he has emerged in a "better spot" for his campaign by spending a week better familiarizing voters with his personality and record. And the GOP nominee pounced on Friday's anemic jobs report as further evidence as to why voters should back him. 

"It is a jobless recovery, if it's a recovery at all," Romney said of the pace of the recovery. "If President Obama is re-elected you're not going to see our unemployment picture change dramatically. You're not going to see us create the jobs we need to create or the rising incomes people need."

The economy joins the issues of taxes and spending as top problems a President Romney would be forced to confront almost immediately upon taking office. Current tax rates will automatically spring upward at the beginning of 2013 absent another extension of the so-called "Bush tax cuts," or some other kind of substitute comprehensive tax reform. And a series of automatic spending cuts stipulated by the 2011 debt ceiling deal will take place in January unless Congress makes steps to undo them.

Those looming issues are linked in large part to partisan discord in Congress, a phenomenon that might not be broken with this year's elections. Internal divisions within the GOP, pitting conservatives who have pushed for deeper cuts against their party's leadership, have additionally complicated dealmaking on Capitol Hill.

As president, Romney said he would seek out compromise, but not in such a way that it would contravene his principles.

"There's nothing wrong with the term compromise, but there is something very wrong with the term abandoning one's principles," he said. "And I'm going to stand by my principles. And those are I am not going to raise taxes on the American people."

Those governing principles extend to health care, a hot-button issue this election which Romney has vowed to tackle if elected.

The GOP nominee has vowed, for instance, to repeal Obama's signature health care law and replace it with his own series of reforms. But that doesn't mean that some of the more popular elements of "Obamacare" would necessarily go away, Romney said.

"I'm not getting rid of all of health care reform. Of course there are a number of things that I like in healthcare reform that I'm going to put in place," said Romney. "One is to make sure that those with pre-existing conditions can get coverage. Two is to assure that the marketplace allows for individuals to have policies that cover their family up to whatever age they might like. I also want individuals to be able to buy insurance, health insurance, on their own as opposed to only being able to get it on a tax advantage basis through their company."

Romney also spoke to the issue of foreign policy, a topic on which he scarcely touched at his convention speech in Tampa. Romney said that Obama has "had some successes and he's had some failure," an example of the latter being the president's handling of Iran.

"President Obama had a policy of engagement with Ahmadinejad.  That policy has not worked and we're closer to a nuclear weapon as a result of that," he said.

Romney said he would handle it differently by more aggressively pursuing diplomacy and sanctions, while also maintaining a military option.

"We need to use every resource we have to dissuade them from their nuclear path. But that doesn't mean that we would take off the table our military option. That's something which certainly every American would hope we would never have to use," Romney said. "But we have to maintain it on the table or Iran will, undoubtedly, continue their treacherous course."

Updated 6:40 p.m. - CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Sen. John Kerry will launch a broadside against Mitt Romney this evening on an issue -- foreign policy -- that has largely taken a backseat to a weeklong focus on the economy.

Jason Reed / REUTERS

Senator and former presidential candidate John Kerry, D-Ma., stands at the podium during a walk through of the stage area ahead of the second session of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, September 5, 2012.

Kerry, the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee and the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will cast GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney's foreign policy as either incomprehensible or a retread of the Bush administration.

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"In this campaign, we have a fundamental choice: Will we protect our country and our allies, advance our interests and ideals, do battle where we must, and make peace where we can?" Kerry will say, according to advance excerpts of his speech. "Or will we entrust our place in the world to someone who just hasn't learned the lessons of the last decade?" 

Slideshow: Democratic National Convention

Democrats have criticized Romney for barely referencing foreign policy in his nomination acceptance speech last week in Tampa, making no reference at all to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that stretched must of the last decade. (Romney has defended himself by pointing to remarks he delivered the day before that focused largely on issues of foreign policy and national security.)

Ahead of tonight's speeches, the Romney campaign argued Thursday would be an excercise in rewriting history in Obama's record.

"An inventory of his record shows that by nearly all measures, President Obama has diminished American influence abroad and compromised our interests and values," wrote Romney policy director Lanhee Chen.

Foreign policy hasn't been at the forefront of this week's Democratic National Convention, but Kerry will look to turn the spotlight tonight to that issue, on which Obama owns an advantage over Romney in the polls.

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Kerry will take aim at two of Romney's central criticisms of Obama in the speech, relating to Israel and the management of the war in Afghanistan. (Romney has accused Obama of throwing Israel "under the bus," and has criticized Obama's timetable for withdrawing from Afghanistan too dangerous, though Romney wouldn't keep a full level of troops there for that much longer.)

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"Barack Obama promised always to stand with Israel -- to tighten sanctions on Iran and take nothing off the table. Again and again the other side has lied about where this President stands and what this President has done," Kerry will say.

On Afghanistan, the Massachusetts senator (and potential future secretary of state in the Obama administration) will say: "It isn’t fair to say Mitt Romney doesn’t have a position on Afghanistan. He has every position."

NBC News has learned that the Democratic Party will reinstate the language recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. 

Republicans -- including the Romney campaign -- criticized President Obama and the Democrats after it was discovered this language had been omitted in the Democratic Party's platform

This will all be changed on the floor today, NBC has learned, and it will probably mean just simply reinstating the 2008 language. 

Just hours before the Republican National Convention played a campaign video Wednesday night showing Mitt Romney at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, his single-biggest financial backer -- billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson -- made a rare public appearance, telling reporters at a Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) event that the GOP presidential candidate is “very pro-Israel” and is “going to defend what he thinks is best for the relationship” between Israel and the United States.

But Adelson, who with his wife has given $10 million to the pro-Romney Restore Our Future super PAC, never had the chance to expand on his views about the Middle East or respond to questions about his mega donations to the GOP cause. As soon as the frail but feisty 79-year-old chairman of the Las Vegas Sands Corp. sat down -- after making a grand entrance clutching a cane and assisted by his Israeli-born wife -- RJC coalition organizers chased away members of the media, repeatedly shouting: “The event is over! We’re going to close this down!”

(Later that evening, a producer with the radio show Democracy Now sought to question Adelson —  being accompanied by Karl Rove — while he was being taken by wheel chair to a fourth floor corporate skybox at the convention. In an incident caught on videotape here, the producer, Mike Burke, reported that a woman identified as Adelson’s daughter grabbed his camera, took it into the skybox and threw it on the ground. Burke said the daughter later apologized.) 

Lior Mizrahi / Getty Images

U.S. gaming tycoon Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam arrive to hear Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney delivers foreign policy remarks on July 29, 2012 in Jerusalem, Israel.

The brief appearance by Adelson came at a spirited event where top members of Congress rubbed elbows with wealthy GOP donors and “Obama ... Oy Vey!” buttons were freely distributed to attendees. At the same time, new details emerged about Adelson’s role in steering supersize checks to groups working to defeat the president and elect Republican members of Congress.

Shortly before Adelson arrived, celebrity rabbi Shmuley Boteach, author of “Kosher Sex” and a one-time spiritual adviser to Michael Jackson who is now running as a Republican candidate for Congress from New Jersey, boasted that Adelson and his wife had recently given $500,000 to “my super PAC” and that they were “heroes of our community.”

Boteach later told reporters that he had then dined with Adelson this week during the RNC convention. “Well, I mean, look they’re friends,” he said of Adelson and his wife. “They don’t need me to tell them where to give their money. They’re very savvy political donors.”

As for the super PAC, called “Patriot Prosperity PAC,” Boteach at first said that, while “we obviously don’t have any contact with them,” it was “set up by the professionals who run my campaign.” 

Although the half-million dollar donation by Adelson and his wife to the “Patriot Prosperity PAC” had already been reported, Boteach’s  reference to “my super PAC” and his reference to it being “set up” by his campaign “professionals”  seemed to raise fresh questions about whether the donations complied with federal election laws. Those laws bar campaign committees from coordinating their activities with supposedly independent super PACs -- which are allowed to take unlimited donations.

But when pressed by reporters about his comments about the origins of the group, the rabbi corrected himself.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no,” he said when asked if his campaign staff had set up the super PAC donations. “Let’s not pull me into something that I am not -- I said the people who run my campaign are the ones who tell me what we’re allowed to do and what we’re not allowed to do. And we are allowed to tell the people who support us that if they want to support us, there was a super PAC. And that’s what we did. That’s exactly what I meant.”

Adelson’s contributions in the 2012 election --- now, combined with those of his wife, total more than $40 million -- have stirred controversy, in part because of his hardline views on Israel (he is a close friend of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu) but also because of ongoing federal investigations into his gambling empire over allegations that it has paid bribes to Chinese officials.

Also this week, Bloomberg News reported that Adelson’s Sands Corp. -- which generates more than half of its multibillion-dollar revenues from four casinos in Macau -- could see its profits soar if Romney were elected and fulfills his pledge to demand that China loosen currency restrictions, allowing the value of the yuan to rise against the dollar.

Adelson’s appearance was the highlight of the RJC event -- partly sponsored by Comcast (owner of NBC News) -- which was attended by other big GOP donors such as hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer. Also present: GOP Sens. John Thune of South Dakota and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and Reps. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, Allen West of Florida, Ed Royce of California and Renee Ellmers of North Carolina.

The event -- briefly interrupted by two protesters who loudly denounced Israeli policies towards the Palestinians and were quickly evicted -- was marked by multiple denunciations of Obama’s policies to Israel.

“I don’t know how there are any Democratic Jews,” said GOP Rep. Billy Long of Missouri. “The way the president has treated [Israeli Prime Minister] Bibi Netanyahu and the land of Israel, I don’t know how any Democratic Jew can still be a Democrat.”

NBC’s Jamie Novogrod also contributed to this story.

Ahead of an evening at the Republican National Convention expected to take aim at President Barack Obama's foreign policy and Mitt Romney doing the same today before the Foreign Legion, the president himself questioned Wednesday whether his GOP opponent Mitt Romney would be able to back up his "tough talk."

Speaking at a rally with college students in Charlottesville, Va., the president took aim at his Republican opponent on issues of energy and foreign policy.

Obama accused Romney, for instance, of lacking detail in his plans to wind down the war in Afghanistan.

"He doesn't have a plan to bring home the 33,000 troops who will be coming home from Afghanistan next month," the president said in a mid-afternoon rally. "He likes to talk tough but he doesn't have a lot of details when it comes to -- to these critical issues."

And, as Republicans rally in Tampa, Obama made light of the Romney campaign's reaction to new fuel efficiency standards as "extreme."

"Just yesterday my opponent called my position on fuel efficiency standards extreme," Obama said. "It doesn’t seem extreme to me, more fuel-efficient cars. Maybe the steam engine is more his speed."

The president's trip today to Virginia -- and yesterday, to Colorado and Iowa -- amounted to a somewhat concerted effort to offer counterprogramming to the Republican National Convention.

Obama hadn't watched any of this week's festivities, according to his spokesman, though that didn't stop him from taking direct aim at the Tampa gathering in his speech.

"This week in Tampa, my opponents will offer you their agenda. It should be a pretty entertaining show," he said. It will be. And I’m sure they’ll have some wonderful things to say about me," Obama said Tuesday to about 6,000 students at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa Tuesday.

“But what you won’t hear from them is a path forward that meets the challenges of our time. Instead, it will be an economic plan that says if you just give folks making $3 million or more a year another $250,000 tax cut, then jobs and prosperity will magically rain down on everybody else.”

That criticism both downplays the importance of the event, at which Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will introduce himself to a national audience, and builds it back up as an event representative of what Obama says is the GOP platform: all rhetoric with no policies.

on Wednesday, here at the nTelos Pavilion, he actually encouraged the crowd of 7,500 to “pay a little attention” to the convention but suggested they wouldn’t be satisfied by it.

“You can listen very carefully, very hard, and you wont’ hear them offer a clear, serious path forward,” he said.

Campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that the president was campaigning during the convention in order to draw a contrast between Republicans’ message, which she suggested was short on details, and his own.

“Conventions are opportunities for both parties to present who they're fighting for and what they stand for and while we didn't hear a lot of answers from the Republicans speaking at the conventions, the president feels it's necessary to keep laying out the choice in this election.”

RNC spokesman Tim Miller argued the opposite point about Obama’s convention-time counterprogramming: “Greek Columns Obama is an expert on showmanship with no follow-through, while our convention is offering a plan for helping the middle class and turning this sputtering economy around.”

President Barack Obama said he would have to rethink his current opposition to U.S. military engagement in Syria if the regime there were to use or move its chemical and biological weapons.

The president told NBC's Chuck Todd that he couldn't be "absolutely confident" that the stockpiles of weapons possessed by Bashar al-Assad's regime were completely secure.

"What I'm saying is we're monitoring that situation very carefully," Obama said in a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room.

But if the Assad regime were to use its weapons stockpiles, or alternatively, move it around, Obama suggested military action could be on the table.

"We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized," the president said. "That would change my calculus. That would change my equation."

Earlier this month, when asked about contingency planning for the Syrian conflict, Secretary Hillary Clinton drew the "red line" at only the use of chemical weapons.

"Both the minister [Turkey Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu] and I saw eye to eye on the many tasks that are ahead of us, and the kinds of contingencies that we have to plan for, including the one you mentioned in the horrible event that chemical weapons were used. And everyone has made it clear to the Syrian regime that is a red line for the world," Clinton said at the time.

But today, he made sure to emphasize that all major players in the region have been informed of where his line falls.

"We have communicated in no uncertain terms with every player in the region that that's a red line for us and that there would be enormous consequences if we start seeing movement on the chemical weapons front or the use of chemical weapons," he said. "That would change my calculations significantly."

Obama also made a point of saying that the issue of chemical weapons doesn’t just concern Syria and the United States, but also allies in the region including Israel.

While the international community would still like to see a political solution to the violence in Syria, Obama said, “at this point the likelihood of a soft landing seems pretty distant."

The U.S. will most likely provide even more monetary humanitarian assistance to help those fleeing the Syrian conflict on top of the $82 million the government has already given. According to USAID, the United Nations “estimates that approximately 2 million people in Syria are in need of humanitarian assistance, approximately 1 million people are internally displaced, and more than 140,000 people have fled to the neighboring countries of Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, and Iraq.”

ARLINGTON, Va. – Presumptive Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan released two years of tax returns late Friday.

They are posted on the Mitt Romney campaign’s website.

Ryan and his wife, Janna, paid an effective tax rate of 15.9 percent in 2010 and 20 percent in 2011, the returns show.

Ryan’s release matches what Romney has pledged to release, not what he’s actually released.

Romney filed for an extension on his 2011 returns, but hasn't yet released them. He has said he would do so before the election. Romney’s estimated 2011 return is posted along with his 2010 return.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel was first with the news that the Ryans’ released the information Friday night, a week after news broke that the Wisconsin congressman would in fact be tapped the next day as Romney’s running mate.

According to his financial disclosure statements, Ryan’s overall net worth is estimated between $2 million and $7.7 million.

In 2010, the couple paid $34,233 in federal taxes on $215,417 of adjusted gross income, the returns show. In 2011, they paid $64,764 in federal taxes on $323,416 of adjusted gross income. Both years include five personal exemptions for the Ryans and their three young children.

No 2012 taxes are ready yet, but Romney and Ryan have vowed to release those returns too. Presumably they would release them if elected.

Romney revived the issue of taxes Thursday when he told reporters at a press conference in South Carolina that he had “never paid less than a 13 percent effective tax rate after reviewing his returns from the past decade.”