Gore blames Denver altitude for Obama's debate performance

It was the altitude. Yeah, that's it. 

As liberal pundits cringed Wednesday night over President Obama's debate performance, Al Gore leapt to his defense with a curious explanation. 

If Obama seemed like he had his head in the clouds, the former VP reasoned, perhaps it was because he was having trouble adjusting to the Mile-High City. 

"I'm going to say something controversial here," Gore said on Current TV, the channel he helped found. "Obama arrived in Denver at 2 p.m. today, just a few hours before the debate started. Romney did his debate prep in Denver. When you go to 5,000 feet, and you only have a few hours to adjust, I don't know ..." 

Gore trailed off with a chuckle, but his fellow co-hosts chimed in with agreement. 

"Exactly," one of them said off-screen. 

Co-host Cenk Uygur noted how when he came from Los Angeles, "You know what I did? I drank two cups of coffee before coming out here." 

Another guest added: "It's really different. The first time I ever did stand up in Denver I had the same exact effect. I flew in that day and when your lungs aren't acclimated to that kind of air, yeah it makes you drawn. It makes you off. The president had an off-night." 

Other Obama supporters weren't quite so willing to give the president a pass. 

"I can't believe i'm saying this, but Obama looks like he DOES need a teleprompter," comedian and Obama supporter Bill Maher tweeted.

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Romney energizes campaign with feisty debate performance

Mitt Romney energized his campaign for president Wednesday night, charging out of his first debate having, by most accounts from both sides of the political spectrum, dominated President Obama in a standoff for which he was evidently well-prepared. 

The Republican nominee was quick on his feet, polished and feisty as he repeatedly cut off the moderator and challenged his opponent on the facts. His central argument -- that Obama's economic policies have consigned the middle class to an eroding "status quo." 

Echoing the words of Vice President Biden earlier in the week, Romney said: "Under the president's policies, middle-income Americans have been buried." 

Liberal pundits and supporters of the president expressed disappointment coming out of the debate, while conservatives were ecstatic. 

Romney heads next to the battleground of Virginia on Thursday, while Obama heads to Wisconsin following a rally in the debate-state of Colorado. It's unclear whether Romney's performance will move the polls, but he was clearly looking for a race-shaking performance having slipped in recent weeks in several swing-state surveys. 

Obama, though, fought Wednesday night to cast Romney as bad for working Americans. He slammed Romney for wanting to turn Medicare into a "voucher" system, repeal the federal health care overhaul and allegedly push a tax cut for top earners. 

Each candidate strived throughout the 90-minute debate to appeal to the middle-class voters who likely will decide the election five weeks from now. While Romney accused Obama of pushing "trickle-down government," Obama accused Romney of wanting to "double down on the top-down policies" that led to the financial crisis. 

The debate, which focused exclusively on domestic matters, was heavy on policy details and light on zingers. It was one of three presidential debates set for October and marked Romney's first opportunity to go toe to toe with the president. 

The debate was tense at times, with the candidates standing just feet from each other and often cutting off the moderator, PBS' Jim Lehrer. Romney appeared to take a consistently more aggressive tone on stage, though the overall tenor of the debate marked a step back from what has become a bitter and nasty campaign in the closing weeks. 

Each candidate came armed with studies and stats to bolster his respective position -- but the central goal was to broaden their appeal before a national audience hurting for jobs and make the case for why their plans would boost growth. 

Obama argued that the issue to consider is not "where we've been" but "where we're going." 

"We've begun to fight our way back," Obama said. He accused Romney of wanting to roll back regulations and implement tax cuts skewed toward the wealthy and reverse those gains. 

But Romney, citing the millions who have gone on food stamps and hit the unemployment lines in the last four years, argued that "the status quo is not going to cut it." 

"We know that the path we're taking is not working. It's time for a new path," Romney said. 

He said Obama's push to raise taxes on top earners amounts to a tax on the very small businesses needed for a robust economic recovery. 

"You raise taxes and you kill jobs," Romney said. "I don't want to kill jobs in this environment." 

On taxes, though, Romney sought to wipe away the caricature that the Obama campaign has been drawing these last two years -- of Romney as an out-of-touch millionaire who's looking to make the rich richer with his tax cut plan. 

Obama again argued Wednesday night that the Republican nominee is pushing a $5 trillion tax cut plan that would skew toward the wealthy. 

To offset that, Obama claimed, Romney would have to either add to the deficit or raise the burden on the middle class. 

"It's math, it's arithmetic," Obama said 

Romney, though, insisted the 20 percent across-the-board rate cut he's pushing is not nearly as sweeping as the president describes. 

"I don't have a $5 trillion tax cut," Romney said. Further, he pledged to hold to his promise that it would be deficit-neutral and not hurt the middle class. 

"There'll be no tax cut that adds to the deficit. I want to underline that -- no tax cut that adds to the deficit," Romney said. He added: "I will not under any circumstance raise taxes on middle-income families." 

Romney addressed his tax plan after saying in an interview that one way to offset the rate cut would be to cap deductions at perhaps $17,000 -- and have taxpayers choose what deductions they want to take. The details may have been meant to undercut the Obama campaign's claims that he has not been specific. 

The president, though, repeatedly hammered Romney at the debate for allegedly hiding the details of his plans -- from his proposals for implementing tax reform to his plans for replacing "ObamaCare." 

"At some point I think the American people have to ask themselves, is the reason that Gov. Romney is keeping all these plans to replace (the health care law) secret, because they're too good?" Obama said sarcastically. 

Obama adamantly defended the health care law, saying he's warmed to the term "ObamaCare." He denied that it was a "takeover" of health care and warned against repealing it as Romney wants to do. 

The debate in Denver fell against the backdrop of a sputtering economic recovery and rising U.S. debt. While Romney used these factors to argue Obama does not deserve a second term, the president again made the case that he's still cleaning up the mess from the prior administration and needs four more years to finish the job. 

Romney arguably had the most to gain out of Tuesday's performance. Though competitive with Obama in national polls, he's been slipping in key battlegrounds. The debate was a chance for him to close that gap, and potentially benefit simply from being on the same stage as the president. 

The two candidates debate next on Oct. 16 and for the last time on Oct. 22. The only vice presidential debate is set for Oct. 11.

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Police in Chicago uncover nearly 1,000 pot plants in city

CHICAGO –  Police in Chicago became farmers for a day Wednesday as they began to chop down a  marijuana farm as big as two football fields found in the city.

The farm, which contains about 1,500 plants and could have netted $7-10 million, was spotted by a police officer and county sheriff's deputy in a helicopter as they headed back to their hangar, MyFoxChicago.com reports.

No arrests had been made as of Wednesday, and police were still trying to determine who owns the property that housed the grow site on the city's far South Side. But police said they were hopeful that because of the size of the operation, informants or others might provide tips about those involved, including a man seen running from the area as the helicopter swooped low.

James O'Grady, the commander of the department's narcotics division, tells The Associated Press they've never seen anything like it before, in part because Chicago's harsh winters mean growers have a lot less time to plant, grow and harvest marijuana than their counterparts in less inclement places such as California and Mexico. The bumper crop was likely planted in spring, O'Grady said.

Add to that the urban sprawl: there are few spots in Chicago where such an operation could go unnoticed because of all the buildings, roads and residents. The growers took pains to ensure their crop was largely hidden by a canopy of trees and surrounding vegetation.

"Somebody put a lot of thought into it," O'Grady said. "But they probably didn't anticipate the helicopter."

Chicago Police Officer Stan Kuprianczyk, a pilot, said police helicopters flew "over it all the time," to and from their hangar, without spying the grow site. Yet somehow, a number of factors came together to allow Cook County Sheriff's Deputy Edward Graney to spot the plants.

"We had the right altitude, the right angle, the right sunlight, and I happened to be glancing down," said Graney. He said he initially spotted five plants or so through the trees before he asked Kuprianczyk to circle around for a closer look.

"We just happened to be right over a small hole in the trees and we looked down," Kuprianczyk said.

They also happened to have the right training, Graney said, explaining that just a few weeks earlier a much smaller operation in suburban Chicago prompted them to fly over and videotape the scene so they might be able to recognize marijuana if they ever saw it from the air again.

So, by the time Graney spotted the marijuana plants, which are a much brighter shade of green than the surrounding vegetation, he had a pretty good idea what he was looking at.

Superintendent Garry McCarthy, whose officers are more used to intercepting shipments of marijuana grown elsewhere or discovering hydroponic growing operations inside buildings, said the discovery of the marijuana is significant in a larger fight against street violence.

Those involved with narcotics, whether it is marijuana, heroin or cocaine, purchase firearms with their profits and have shown they're willing to use them to protect their business, he said.

"That's where the violence comes in, the competition for the markets," he said.

Click for more from MyFoxChicago.com.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Obama, Romney battle over economic policies in first presidential debate

Mitt Romney took President Obama to task Wednesday night for an economy that has sputtered while moving millions onto government assistance, using his first general election face-off to chip away at the narrative that Obama’s presidency is working for the middle class.

Echoing the words of Vice President Biden earlier in the week, Romney said: “Under the president’s policies, middle-income Americans have been buried.”

Obama, though, sustained the drumbeat at their kick-off debate in Denver that his opponent is promising a return to failed policies that would boost the privileged and burden the working class. He slammed Romney for wanting to turn Medicare into a “voucher” system, repeal the federal health care overhaul and allegedly push a tax cut for top earners.

Each candidate strived throughout the 90-minute debate to appeal to the middle-class voters who likely will decide the election five weeks from now. While Romney accused Obama of pushing “trickle-down government,” Obama accused Romney of wanting to “double down on the top-down policies” that led to the financial crisis.

The debate, which focused exclusively on domestic matters, was heavy on policy details and light on zingers. It was one of three presidential debates set for October and marked Romney’s first opportunity to go toe to toe with the president.

The debate was tense at times, with the candidates standing just feet from each other and often cutting off the moderator, PBS' Jim Lehrer. Romney appeared to take a slightly more aggressive tone on stage, though the overall tenor of the debate marked a step back from what has become a bitter and nasty campaign in the closing weeks.

Each candidate came armed with studies and stats to bolster his respective position – but the central goal was to broaden their appeal before a national audience hurting for jobs and make the case for why their plans would boost growth.

Obama argued that the issue to consider is not “where we’ve been” but “where we’re going.”

“We’ve begun to fight our way back,” Obama said. He accused Romney of wanting to roll back regulations and implement tax cuts skewed toward the wealthy and reverse those gains.

But Romney, citing the millions who have gone on food stamps and hit the unemployment lines in the last four years, argued that “the status quo is not going to cut it.”

“We know that the path we’re taking is not working. It’s time for a new path,” Romney said.

He said Obama’s push to raise taxes on top earners amounts to a tax on the very small businesses needed for a robust economic recovery.

“You raise taxes and you kill jobs,” Romney said. “I don’t want to kill jobs in this environment.”

On taxes, though, Romney sought to wipe away the caricature that the Obama campaign has been drawing these last two years – of Romney as an out-of-touch millionaire who’s looking to make the rich richer with his tax cut plan.

Obama again argued Wednesday night that the Republican nominee is pushing a $5 trillion tax cut plan that would skew toward the wealthy. To offset that, Obama claimed, Romney would have to either add to the deficit or raise the burden on the middle class.

“It’s math, it’s arithmetic,” Obama said

Romney, though, insisted the 20 percent across-the-board rate cut he’s pushing is not nearly as sweeping as the president describes.

“I don’t have a $5 trillion tax cut,” Romney said. Further, he pledged to hold to his promise that it would be deficit-neutral and not hurt the middle class.

“There’ll be no tax cut that adds to the deficit. I want to underline that – no tax cut that adds to the deficit,” Romney said. He added: “I will not under any circumstance raise taxes on middle-income families.”

Romney addressed his tax plan after saying in an interview that one way to offset the rate cut would be to cap deductions at perhaps $17,000 – and have taxpayers choose what deductions they want to take. The details may have been meant to undercut the Obama campaign’s claims that he has not been specific.

The president, though, repeatedly hammered Romney at the debate for allegedly hiding the details of several plans – from his proposals for implementing tax reform to his plans for replacing “ObamaCare.”

“At some point I think the American people have to ask themselves, is the reason that Governor Romney is keeping all these plans to replace (the health care law) secret, because they’re too good?” Obama said sarcastically.

Obama adamantly defended the health care law, saying he’s warmed to the term “ObamaCare.” He denied that it was a “takeover” of health care and warned against repealing it as Romney wants to do. 

On taxes, Romney also knocked Obama for returning to a call for closing tax breaks for oil and gas companies as part of his deficit reduction plan. Romney said the $90 billion in aid to green energy companies amounts to “about 50 years’ worth of what oil and gas receives.” Still, Romney said, he’d be willing to put cutting the oil industry breaks “on the table” if overall rates go down.

Romney also had a quick retort when Obama suggested Romney wanted to cut education spending.

“Mr. President, you're entitled as a president to your own airplane and to your own house, but not to your own facts. All right, I'm not going to cut education funding,” he said.

The debate in Denver fell against the backdrop of a sputtering economic recovery and rising U.S. debt. While Romney used these factors to argue Obama does not deserve a second term, the president again made the case that he’s still cleaning up the mess from the prior administration and needs four more years to finish the job.

The campaigns carefully managed expectations in the run-up to the debate.

Obama's advisers claimed Romney arrived with practice from the primary season under his belt. Romney's advisers noted Obama was the only one on stage with any general election debate experience. 

But Romney’s campaign cranked up its attacks in advance of the faceoff. Republicans seized on a comment by Biden in North Carolina Tuesday in which he said the middle class has been "buried" over the last four years. Romney and running mate Paul Ryan pointed to the admission as proof of what they've been arguing all along.

Romney arguably had the most to gain out of Tuesday’s performance. Though competitive with Obama in national polls, he's been slipping in key battlegrounds. The debate was a chance for him to close that gap, and potentially benefit simply from being on the same stage as the president. 

The two candidates debate next on Oct. 16 and for the last time on Oct. 22. The only vice presidential debate is set for Oct. 11.

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Clinton pins hopes on internal review to answer mounting questions on what went wrong in Libya

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton responded to mounting questions Wednesday about what went wrong in Libya and who's responsible by asking for more time to complete an internal review, saying, "nobody will hold this department more accountable than we hold ourselves." 

The secretary vowed to get to the bottom of the terror attack that killed four Americans last month in response to a letter by Reps. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, claiming the department turned down requests for more security amid a string of attacks and threats in the lead-up to the Sept. 11 strike. 

"No one wants to determine what happened that night in Benghazi more than the president and I do. No one is more committed to ensuring it doesn't happen again, and nobody will hold this department more accountable than we hold ourselves because we serve with and we knew the four men we lost," Clinton said Wednesday. She did not address the lawmakers' specific allegations. 

As Clinton assured lawmakers that a newly formed "Accountability Review Board" will be getting on the case this week, a U.S. official also confirmed to Fox News that the administration is tracking suspects, though the official could not speculate on what action -- such as drone strikes -- the U.S. could take inside Libya's borders. 

The official claimed some of the militants involved were killed during the Sept. 11 firefight at the U.S. compound in Benghazi. 

Despite the movement, there is still no confirmation that FBI agents dispatched to Libya have arrived in Benghazi. 

And Chaffetz expressed concern that the State Department's findings would be pushed off until "after the election." 

"There are clear signs that (there were) security concerns in Libya and other embassies around the world, and what they were doing is diminishing security in the name of normalizing relations," Chaffetz told Fox News. 

Issa and Chaffetz detailed several attacks in Benghazi in the lead-up to the strike that they suggested should have been warning signs. 

Further, they claimed sources told them that diplomats made "repeated requests" for additional security but were denied. 

New signs also were emerging this week that officials were receiving guidance that the attack was coordinated in the immediate aftermath of the strike despite public comments to the contrary. 

The New York Times, which first reported that the U.S. was tracking suspects, reported that, according to one official, spy agencies were intercepting communications from militant Ansar al-Shariah fighters boasting to someone with an Al Qaeda affiliate. 

Reuters also reported that the Obama administration had "about a dozen" intelligence reports within hours of the attack suggesting Al Qaeda-tied militants were involved. 

Fox News reported last week that intelligence officials were picking up that it was a terror strike within 24 hours. 

Still, top administration officials in the week after the attack insisted it was a "spontaneous" reaction to protests over an anti-Islam film. That film was driving demonstrations across the Middle East and North Africa, but lawmakers and others were saying from the start that Libya was a different situation despite the initial claims of the Obama administration. 

Letters obtained exclusively by Fox News also appear to show the State Department refused to get involved when the company tasked with protecting the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, raised security concerns. 

The letters pertained to a dispute between Blue Mountain Libya, the security license holder in Libya, and its operations partner Blue Mountain UK, which trained and provided the local guards. 

A source with knowledge of two State Department meetings -- one in June and a second in July -- told Fox News that Blue Mountain Libya felt the security provided by the UK partner was "substandard and the situation was unworkable." 

But according to the source, when the Libyans tried to bring in a third party -- an American contractor -- to improve security, a State Department contract officer declined to get involved. 

Asked about that letter Tuesday, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the department's investigation likely would address the issue. 

Fox News' Ed Henry and Catherine Herridge contributed to this report.

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Obama, Romney jockey for edge ahead of first debate

After months of hammering each other's records from afar, President Obama and Mitt Romney will meet in Denver Wednesday night for their first face-to-face debate -- a 90-minute chance for either candidate to shake up the race with five weeks left on the clock. 

Each campaign has been carefully managing expectations for the showdown. Obama's advisers claim Romney arrives with practice from the primary season under his belt. Romney's advisers note Obama is the only one stage tonight with any general election debate experience. 

But Romney's campaign has gotten aggressive in the hours leading up to the face-off. Republicans seized on a comment by Vice President Biden in North Carolina Tuesday in which he said the middle class has been "buried" over the last four years. 

Romney and running mate Paul Ryan pointed to the admission as proof of what they've been arguing all along. The comment played into their central claim ahead of a debate on domestic policy that Obama's policies have hurt the middle class. 

"We agree," Ryan said in Iowa. "That means we need to stop digging by electing Mitt Romney the next president of the United States." 

The Obama campaign, though, called it a "desperate and out-of-context attack." 

The debate, one of three this month in addition to a vice presidential forum, is both high-risk and high-reward. A well-phrased retort from either candidate could redound to their benefit in the polls, while an awkward moment could have the opposite effect. 

Romney arguably has the most to gain. Though competitive with Obama in national polls, he's been slipping in key battlegrounds. The debate is a chance for him to close that gap, and potentially benefit simply from being on the same stage as the president. 

Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter tried to preempt several possible arguments by Romney with a lengthy memo Wednesday morning.   

"For the next four years, President Obama has laid out real and achievable goals, and a specific path to get there, restoring middle-class security and creating jobs and long-term economic growth," she wrote. "Mitt Romney comes to this debate in a different position. He doesn't have any specific plans to move us forward - only tired repeats that will take us back. ... So, Romney can use tonight's debate to fill in those details and finally, for the first time, explain his proposals or readjust his positions. Or he can spend 90 minutes doing what he does best: attacking the president, distorting his own record, and avoiding any and all details on his plans for this country." 

The debate is a rare moment when millions of Americans fix their attention on one political event. Fifty-two million people tuned in to the first debate four years ago, and 80 percent of the nation's adults reported watching at least a bit of the 2008 debates between Obama and Republican John McCain. 

Just 7 percent of likely voters have yet to pick a candidate, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll last month. 

Romney's campaign fell further behind in the wake of a secretly recorded video released last month showing him telling campaign donors that 47 percent of Americans pay no federal income tax and believe they are victims who are entitled to government assistance. As a candidate, he said, "my job is not to worry" about them. 

While Romney may draw attention to Biden's "buried" comment on Wednesday, it's likely Romney will face questions about the hidden-video remarks. 

Voting has already started and is picking up momentum. All but two of the battleground states, which do not reliably vote Democrat or Republican, have early voting, meaning more people are already locking in their votes every day. The most important of those states, Ohio, started early voting Tuesday. 

But Republicans with access to Romney's polling data said Tuesday that he has begun regaining some support among independent voters, enabling him to cut into the president's advantage. 

Wednesday's 9 p.m. EDT debate on domestic issues is sure to offer a blend of choreography and spontaneity. Both men have spent hours rehearsing with proxy opponents yet know to expect the unexpected. 

Half of the six, 15-minute debate segments have been allotted to topics related to the economy. The last three segments will focus on health care, the role of government and governing. 

Romney and Obama debate again Oct. 16 and Oct. 22. The lone debate for the vice presidential candidates is Oct. 11. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Supernatural: Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki on Season 8, Including Sam's New Outlook and Dean's Hurt Locker

With Supernatural: Season 8 kicking off this Wednesday night at 9pm, we recently caught up with stars Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki on the Vancouver set of the series, find out where Sam and Dean are headed this year.

Both Winchester brothers have been trapped in far off hell-mensions before, but in the Season 7 finale we saw Dean actually land down in an unfamiliar place to the show - Purgatory.  So how will this season be different, as far as the "separated brothers" storyline goes?  Well, for one thing, the year down in Purgatory has turned Dean into a "hardened warrior."  Because in Purgatory, it's all monsters.  And the hunter became the hunted.

Top 10 Supernatural Episodes

"We find that Dean has gotten out, and the time that he spent there [Purgatory] and what happened there has changed his outlook, and his perspective on things," Ackles revealed.  "These guys [the brothers] are always kind of at war, with the evils of the world, but he got a heavy, heavy dose of it down there, because he's surrounded by the things that he kills when he's topside. It was almost a concentrated version of what he's used to. He's come back a hardened warrior, and ready to use those sharpened skills in the real world. So he's a solider that just got back from war. It's going to take him a little while to adjust to the lack of threat, and the lack of combat."

Sam and Dean, from the Season 8 premiere.

"It's almost like The Hurt Locker, when Jeremy Renner's character comes back from war and he's sitting there looking at a cereal box aisle, and it's just so foreign to him," Ackles continued. "But what isn't foreign is being on the ground, fighting. I think Dean is feeling a sense of that. It's a year that he spent down in Purgatory, so he was down there for a whole year doing this. Fighting and battling non-stop, covered in blood, covered in mud, covered in dirt for twelve months."

Meanwhile, Sam, with no idea where Dean or Castiel went, and without Bobby or any contacts to the Hunter world, has been living a very different life.  "[Sam's] going to take off the hunter garb and just live a normal life, because I have nothing to tie me back," Padalecki remarked.  "There’s no Jo, there’s no Harvelle’s Roadhouse, there’s nothing. There’s absolutely nothing holding Sam back from a normal life so he really commits to it and so when it all comes crashing back down, it’s like a brutal reminder yet again of who he kind of has been and is possibly meant to be."

"I think Sam in this season is different than Sam in other seasons where Dean was either in hell or where Sam was in hell," Padalecki added. "Usually when they’ve been split up, there’s been sort of the impetus of like, 'My brother’s in trouble, I’ve got to save him. I’ve got to help him. He’s going to help me and he’s going to save me.'" Part of the normal life that Sam pursues in Dean's absence is a relationship - his first meaningful one since Jessica back in the pilot episode - with a girl named Amelia. And even though the relationship is apparently over and done with by the time the Season 8 premiere takes place, Sam is still left hesitant to return to his old life with Dean. "Sam is kind of the adult in this reconciliation," Padalecki said. "He’s like, 'Look I found my own thing. I love you. You’re my brother and I’m so happy you’re back and I’m going to help you now but I want out. I want out. I love you. It’s great. I’m grateful that you’ve saved my life many times and vice versa. No hard feelings.'"

Padalecki then added, "And so Sam is kind of at a place where he wants to move onto something different, and I think Dean resents Sam more because Sam was living a good Christian life down in Kermit, Texas with a girl that he fell in love with and Dean was fighting for his life." Jensen Ackles also expanded on this notion, stating that the brothers have been worlds apart, in many ways. "It's going to take a little bit of time to warm up to the relationship that [Dean] has with Sam," Ackles said. "There's also what Sam did for the past year, which compacts the odd element that these two brothers have not only spent time apart — it's what they were doing. Dean was in this concentrated war zone, and Sam was literally just the opposite. So really, these two brothers have really been living two different lives this past year, and now they're having to come back together and pick up where they left up. It poses a bit of a problem."

More from the Season 8 premiere.

Added into the mix, causing more problems, is a new, mysterious character named Benny (played by Ty Olsson), who Dean bonds with down in Purgatory. "I'm really excited about that relationship, just on a personal level," Ackles smiled. "It's not only introducing a new character who I think is really cool, and I don't know if you guys have had a chance to talk to or see any of Ty Olsson's stuff, but he's a really fantastic actor. He and I clicked right off the bat, and the character is I think a really great kind of contemporary for Dean. It's a foxhole relationship in a sense. He's been at war with this guy. Benny really earned his stripes with Dean. He earned his trust, which is really difficult not only for Dean to understand, but even more difficult for Sam to understand when Dean comes back."

So with the Winchester brothers now more estranged than ever, what does that mean for the further adventures of Sam and Dean? "I think the way [Sam's] going to specifically react to Dean is just try to help him out in the task at hand and hopefully then do his own thing again," Padalecki stated. "He’s not going to leave him hanging and say 'Nope, I’m not having this. Have fun.' He’s going to say 'Okay, I get it. I do owe you this as you certainly have done for me a lot more than anybody else has. You’ve earned this and so I’ll help.' And we also both believe that we’re onto something that will end our hunting careers forever, so Sam’s like 'You know what? Perfect. Because I know what it’s like to not have an anchor into the hunting aspect of life - so I would love to actually not have a need for that hunting aspect of life and if this can solve that, then I’m in.'"

Supernatural's Season 8 kicks things off with "We Need to Talk About Kevin," on Wednesday, October 3rd, at 9pm.

Travel accommodations to Vancouver provided by Warner Bros.

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Campaigns launch into expectations game ahead of vital presidential debate

With the first presidential debate set for Wednesday, the campaigns are hard at work trying to jockey for advantage -- as the Obama campaign girds for a potentially aggressive performance by Mitt Romney. 

The three October debates could be Romney's best chance to overtake President Obama in the polls and build lasting momentum into Election Day. To date, he has trailed Obama by single digits for months in most national polls while the president recently has watched his lead grow in key swing states. 

The debate stage, for Romney, represents an opportunity to win over the wishy-washy. And Obama's team wants to make sure his opponent is not so convincing. In the run-up to Wednesday, each campaign is now engaged in a delicate political dance, trying to manage expectations and shoot down potential talking points while generally psyching out the other side. 

Dueling campaign memos released Thursday and Friday contained practically the same message: The other guy is a skilled debater, the other guy has the advantage, but our guy has the truth on his side and debates aren't the only factor. 

"Just as he was in the primaries, we expect Mitt Romney to be a prepared, disciplined and aggressive debater," Obama adviser David Axelrod wrote in a memo Friday, adding that debates "generally favor challengers." 

Axelrod went on to list several other advantages Romney supposedly has -- the Republican nominee got plenty of debate practice during the primaries, and he's "unencumbered" by the responsibility of being president. 

"Maybe this is why the Romney campaign has so confidently predicted for months that he will turn in a campaign-changing performance such as Ronald Reagan's in 1980," Axelrod wrote. 

He was referring to Reagan's late surge past then-President Jimmy Carter in the polls following a strong debate performance. 

Axelrod's counterpart on the Romney campaign, adviser Beth Myers, made a similar case. 

"While Governor Romney has the issues and the facts on his side, President Obama enters these contests with a significant advantage on a number of fronts," she wrote in a strategy memo. "Voters already believe -- by a 25-point margin -- that President Obama is likely to do a better job in these debates. Given President Obama's natural gifts and extensive seasoning under the bright lights of the debate stage, this is unsurprising. President Obama is a uniquely gifted speaker, and is widely regarded as one of the most talented political communicators in modern history." 

Myers stressed that this will be Romney's first "one-on-one" presidential debate, and argued that Obama was judged the winner every time he faced John McCain in 2008. "The takeaway? Not only has President Obama gained valuable experience in these debates, he also won them comfortably." 

The first debate will be held this coming Wednesday in Denver, Colo., and will focus on domestic policy. 

It will be followed by the lone vice presidential debate on Oct. 11 between Republican running mate Paul Ryan and Vice President Biden. 

The second presidential debate is set for Oct. 16 in Hempstead, N.Y., and is expected to be a town hall format covering a range of issues. 

The final debate is set for Oct. 22 in Boca Raton, Fla., and will focus on foreign policy. 

While each candidate is trumpeting the other's debating prowess in order to lower expectations -- and hopefully pull off what would then be perceived as a surprisingly strong night -- each campaign is also hammering the other on the issues. 

"But what must President Obama overcome?" Myers asked. "His record." 

She argued his "ample rhetorical gifts" will be used to try and mask the failures in that record, warning the president will go "negative" to divert attention. 

Axelrod argued the same, and went on to try and rebut any potential argument. Citing a recent comment in which Romney predicted Obama would "say a lot of things that aren't accurate," the campaign also released a web video Friday challenging several of Romney's recent claims of mischaracterization. 

It showed one clip of Romney saying he's not in favor of lowering taxes on wealthy people, followed by a debate clip of Romney saying he wants to cut taxes for everyone by 20 percent, "including the top 1 percent." 

"Facts will matter," Axelrod wrote.

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IGN's Dishonored Live Stream Highlights

This past Wednesday IGN headed down to London's Barbican to quiz Arkane Studios' Raphaël Colantonio and Harvey Smith, the brains behind upcoming supernatural assassination game, Dishonored.

Alongside a never-before-seen walkthrough of the game's Kaldwin's Bridge level, IGN also got the chance to host an audience Q&A where we pitched your questions to the people in the know.

We've got highlights from the event for you right here. Be sure to watch the video below, and to check out the full host of pictures, head to the IGN UK Facebook page.

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Florida officials find 198 non-citizens on voter rolls after extensive search

Florida officially renewed its hunt for ineligible voters on Wednesday, sending a new list of 198 people suspected of being non-U.S. citizens to county election officials and asking them to start the process to remove them from the rolls. 

This new list is a far cry from the more than 2,600 registered voters that state election officials once targeted -- but Republican Gov. Rick Scott and others have defended the continued effort. 

"I have not talked to one Floridian who says I want my vote diluted by somebody who has never had a right to vote in my state," Scott said last week. "We are doing absolutely the right thing. We believe in honest and fair elections." 

It's not clear, however, if the latest effort by the state will result in voters being removed from the rolls prior to this year's presidential election. Florida is a key swing state, and voting rights groups have criticized the purge as a way of discouraging legal immigrants and minorities from casting ballots. 

Under the process that election supervisors will use, they will send out letters to those suspected of being non-citizens. In some cases it could take up to 60 days before the voters are eventually removed from the rolls. 

"It's going to take a while," said Susan Bucher, the Palm Beach County elections supervisor, who was sent the names of 14 voters suspected of being ineligible. "It lands us after Election Day." 

It was Scott who last year first pushed to have the state look for non-U.S. citizens on the rolls. The state initially compared a list of driver's licenses with voter registration data and came up with a potential list of 180,000 voters suspected of not being citizens. 

That list was pared back to much smaller one of more than 2,600 registered voters that was sent out to county election officials this past spring. Many election supervisors, however, did not wind up removing anyone after questions about the law and the accuracy of the list arose. There are still outstanding lawsuits that contend that the state lacks the authority to remove voters within 90 days of Election Day -- although one federal judge this summer sided with the state. 

The most recent list came about after the state reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to screen names on a federal immigration database. That yielded a list of 207 names -- which has gotten smaller as state officials have continued to verify information. 

Some of those on the most recent list include voters who have already admitted that they are not citizens. 

Most of the voters on the latest list are from Miami-Dade County, although there are suspected ineligible voters from the Panhandle to Southwest Florida. 

While Florida moves ahead with its most recent purge, the state has agreed to ask counties to reach out to the voters targeted earlier this year and inform them they are still registered. 

The state also agreed to place back on the rolls any voter whose non-citizenship status has not been confirmed by the database Florida is now using. At least two counties -- Collier and Lee -- had removed voters from the rolls because they did not respond to certified letters and newspaper ads.

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Dishonored IGN Livestream This Week

IGN has been excitedly following the progress of Dishonored since its announcement, but now you can see what all the fuss is about for yourself. This Wednesday (26 September) from 7.30pm BT (or 11.30am PT if you’re in North America, and 4.30am AEST Thursday 27 September if you’re in Australia) IGN and Bethesda will be showing off the Kaldwin’s Bridge level of the game, not once but twice, to demonstrate the countless different ways you can get through the game.

The livestream will be taking place at an event in central London and one of the game’s developers will be on hand to provide insight into the game. Then, directly after the playthrough, we’ll be linking up live with Arkane Studios president Raphaël Colantonio and co-creative director Harvey Smith for an exclusive question and answer session to find out more about Dishonored.

Of course, you’ll be able to catch it all on IGN – indeed, on this very page – so don’t forget to bookmark in preparation for Wednesday’s unveiling. And if you want to get involved, simply Tweet your question to @IGNUK using the hashtag #IGNDishonored.

See you Wednesday!

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