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tent move -- like President George H.W. Bush's exasperated glance at his watch or Democrat Al Gore's repeated sighing -- could roil the campaign for days and linger in voters' mind until Nov. 6.
• No wonder Romney spent days this past week holed up at the Vermont estate of former Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey for debate practice sessions with Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, who played the role of Obama. The president, for his part, has had one practice session with Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the Democrats' stand-in for Romney, and is certain to have several more before the first debate Oct. 3 in Denver.
• The second debate, a town hall-style session, is Oct. 16 in Hempstead, N.Y. The final debate, on foreign policy, is Oct. 22 in Boca Raton, Fla. GOP running mate Paul Ryan and Vice President Joe Biden have one debate, Oct. 11 in Danville, Ky.
• Incumbents usually are at a disadvantage, defending a record against a chal

lenger critiquing four years of work. Obama will be trying to avoid the fate of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, who turned in flat debate performances in their first encounters with rivals. In the end, though, it didn't hurt either one as they both won re-election.
• ___

• DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- As Iran's president crafts his talking points for his annual trip to New York, one message is likely to remain near the top: Tehran has not closed the door on nuclear dialogue and is ready to resume negotiations with world powers.
• The offer is not very different from those coming out of Washington and other capitals. The challenge is figuring out how to overcome the huge divides after three rounds of high-level meetings since April failed to make headway.
• Questions over whether the diplomatic effort still has a pulse will closely follow Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his time at the U.N. General Assembly later this month -- his last as Iranian president before elections next June for his successor. His expected speeches and interviews will be scrutinized for any hint Iran is softening its positions on the nuclear talks as Western sanctions bite deeper and Israeli leaders contemplate military action dismiss diplomacy as a dead end.
• For the moment, Iran appears to favor a strategy of pumping just enough life into

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