DWYER:  Democrats are protesting some comments by Ted Nugent, of course the musician and Romney supporter who said over the weekend at the NRA convention that the administration is 'vile' and 'evil.' Do you have any reaction to that?  And where do you draw the lines in this campaign for accountability of what supporters of the candidates may or may not say?

CARNEY: I think the president has said and I and others have said that, you know, we can't be policing the statements of supporters across the board.  The president is focused on the issues.  The president is focused on doing everything he can specifically with regards to helping the economy grow and helping the economy create jobs.

He looks forward to an important debate that will take place as the general election is engaged.  There are very stark differences, there is no question, between his vision for America's future, in particular its economic future, and the vision put forward by the Republicans, embodied in the Republican budget that we've discussed quite a bit in this room.

I think those are the issues that will be evaluated by the American people in November when this election is held.  I think a lot of this other stuff is noise.  And I think most Americans are pretty sophisticated consumers of the news, especially as we get closer to the elections, and pretty sophisticated evaluators of the men and women who put themselves forward to be president.

DWYER: So does the president support what the Democrats are saying, that the Romney campaign should disavow these statements?

CARNEY:  I haven't seen the comments that you're referring to by others. The president's focused on doing his job.  He has made the point that, you know - you know, we can't as a general rule police the statements of every supporter. 

I think best to just abide by the kind of standards of behavior and rhetoric yourself, as he said, I think, in standing here in a press conference with you all on one occasion, and stick to making the case for your vision and doing everything you can, constructively and substantively, both with Congress and administratively, to help the economy grow and to help it continue to create jobs, as we recover from the worst recession since the Great Depression.