Whatever happens at the vice presidential debate tonight, we need to respond quickly and forcefully.

With 26 days to go, we can't just sit and wait for someone else to set the record straight. That's how elections are lost.

Please make a donation of $X or more right now to see this campaign through the finish line:

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The number one thing we won't be able to control in tonight's debate is whether Congressman Ryan tells the truth -- about himself, his record, or his and Mitt Romney's actual plans for where they'd take our country.

If the past is any indicator, he won't.

For his whole career, Paul Ryan has made an art of obscuring the facts. He's done it on big things -- like the fact that the Ryan budget that he championed in Congress, later adopted by the Romney-Ryan campaign, would actually end Medicare as we know it for our seniors and turn it into a voucher program.

He's misrepresented even the smallest things, too -- like his own personal marathon time.

If he's not going to be bound by the facts tonight, it's something that every voter needs to know.

One big thing our side can control in this debate is how strongly we respond.

As soon as Vice President Biden walks off that stage, we need to be ready to fire all cylinders to make sure our message -- and the truth about the choice in this election -- gets out there.

Before he gets up on that stage to fight for us tonight, please make a donation, no matter how large or small:

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Thank you for everything.

Messina

Jim Messina Campaign Manager Obama for America

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