Best of Sunday Talk: David Axelrod, Deval Patrick & More (Video)

Romney Camp: Obama’s No Olympian

Does running the Olympics make you more qualified to be president than…being president? That’s what Romney campaign senior adviser Eric Fehrnstrom suggested on This Week, referencing his guy’s time running the Salt Lake event. “What we really have here is a deficit in leadership,” Fehrnstrom said. “This president came into office without any prior experience running anything. He never even ran a corner store.” Ouch.

Stephanie Cutter: Blame Congress!

Obama’s deputy campaign manager fought back—by blaming Congress. “There are a million jobs sitting on that table in Congress right now,” Stephanie Cutter said, referring to Obama’s proposed jobs legislation. “They need to stop sitting on their hands and rooting for failure.” But George Will wasn’t buying it: “What about the Keystone pipeline?” he chimed in. “You don’t need Congress to do that.” Boom. Cutter stumbled, and that was that.

Battle of the Governors

What was Mitt Romney really doing as governor of Massachusetts? On Meet the Press, the state’s current executive, Democrat Deval Patrick, clashed with Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, over the GOP nominee’s gubernatorial record. Did incomes decrease under his watch? (Yes.) Did unemployment go down while he was in charge? (Also yes.) So what are we supposed to make of Romney’s record? Patrick probably said it best: These facts “don’t mean that [Romney] was a failure as governor.” But was he a success?

Axelrod: Romney Is No ‘Oracle’

Mitt Romney has no idea what to do with the economy, David Axelrod said on Face the Nation—even as the former governor paints himself as an “economic oracle.” Still, Axelrod conceded, “No one’s arguing whether Romney is qualified to be president.” Whose side are you on, Ax?

Ed Gillespie: President’s Policies ‘Hostile to Job Creators’

No job? Blame the president. Romney senior adviser Ed Gillespie jumped all over this week’s awful job numbers to accuse President Obama of creating a country “hostile to job creators.” Obama shouldn’t have turned off the tap on the Keystone pipeline and shouldn’t be promising tax increases, Gillespie said on Fox News Sunday. There’s “a sense of urgency to this year’s election to be able to turn things around,” he added. Host Chris Matthews pressed the GOP adviser, asking whether Romney supports elements of the Obama jobs act that might help stave off some economic hardships in the months to come. “What he supports is leadership,” Gillespie said. Well that’s nice.

Mayor Tom Barrett: I Stand for Wisconsin Values

The only show not to lead with the economy, State of the Union went straight to Wisconsin to talk recall. Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett, who’s trying to defeat controversial Governor Scott Walker in a recall election on Tuesday, laid out what this race is all about. “This is Wisconsin values versus outside influence,” he said. Walker wants to be the “rock star of the far right” and get national attention, Barrett argued; the mayor, meanwhile, has no grander aspirations than the governor’s mansion.

Neera Tanden: Romney Is W. 2.0

Do you miss George W.? Well, according to Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden, you can get another one into office by electing Mitt Romney in November. Because Romney supports the Paul Ryan tax plan—which Paul Krugman called “a fraud” on This Week—Romney might as well be a replica of No. 43, she Tanden argues. That parallel is so simple even W. would appreciate it.