Axelrod: GOP ‘In Deep Trouble’
On Fox News Sunday, a confident David Axelrod taunted the Romney-Ryan campaign, saying that with only two days left until the election, the GOP knows “that they’re in deep trouble.” Expounding on the ever-important state of Ohio, which many pundits say will determine the election, the Obama campaign’s senior strategist was confident the state would remain blue. “They’re behind,” he said of his rivals, “and they’re not catching up at this point.” What about the rest of the country? Well, Axelrod said, Romney and Ryan are “desperately looking for somewhere to try and dislodge some electoral votes to win this election,” but “I can tell you that’s not going to happen.”
Beeson: Romney Will Win Florida ‘By A Significant Margin’
Mitt Romney’s political director also stopped by Fox News Sunday, arguing that this year’s presidential race won’t come down to ‘Florida, Florida, Florida,’ despite Axelrod’s claim that the GOP is “vulnerable” in the crucial swing state. “At the end of the day,” Rich Beeson said, “Governor Romney is going to carry Florida by a significant margin.” In fact, Beeson is confident that his candidate will take enough key states to win the entire election: “It looks like the map is expanding drastically in our favor,” he said. “I’m just sitting here trying to imagine what Mr. Axelrod is going to look like next week without his mustache,” referring to the Obama adviser’s wager to shave his facial hair if Obama loses Michigan, Minnesota, or Pennsylvania.
Cantor: Obama ‘Full of Negativity, Character Assassination’
The battleground states will decide this election. And the tightest swing state race, according to POLITICO, is in Virginia. So Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who represents Virginia’s 7th congressional district and the interests of the Tea Party, took to Meet the Press to bash President Obama and back up Romney’s bid for the presidency. “Mitt Romney has a plan,” Cantor said. “The president doesn’t. The president is full of negativity, character assassination, and attacks.”
Noonan: ‘Why Can’t We Do It Like England?’
Get Peggy Noonan some tea and crumpits. On Face the Nation, the conservative columnist maligned the length and cost of modern presidential campaigns, and suggested that the U.S. take a page out of Britain’s political playbook. “I have never—up until the past few weeks—heard so many people say, ‘why can’t we do it like England?’” she said. “One of those socialist countries over there?” David Gergen interjected. “Yes,” Noonan replied, “they announce an election, six weeks later they vote—thank you very much.” (Two quick notes: 1) The Conservative Party is currently in power in the U.K., and their austerity program is far from socialist. 2) The U.K. implemented its first live, televised, “American style” debate during its last election.)
Plouffe: Rove Will Be at a ‘Crossroads’ Himself
Obama senior adviser David Plouffe took a shot at American Crossroads GPS co-founder Karl Rove, telling This Week, “my sense is Karl is going to be at [a] crossroads himself on Tuesday when he tries to explain to the people who wrote him hundreds of millions of dollars why they fell up short.” Zing! Interestingly, Rove told Fox News Sunday that “it’s hard to defeat an incumbent president…this doesn’t happen very often.” Sounds confident.
Barbour: Sandy ‘Broke Romney’s Momentum’
Hurricane Sandy, which devastated the east coast this week, may have also destroyed the GOP’s chances of winning the presidency, Haley Barbour said on State of the Union. “The hurricane is what broke Romney’s momentum,” argued the former Mississippi governor. “Any day that the news media is not talking about jobs and the economy, taxes and spending…is a good day for Barack Obama.” The Republican pol, whose state was hit by Katrina in 2005, even had a double entendre prepared to make his case: “When you had a blackout,” he said, “you had a blackout on all of those issues.”
Not Everything Is About The Campaign
On Reliable Sources, Howard Kurtz chatted with Frank Sesno, director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University, and Ryan Lizza, Washington correspondent for the New Yorker, about how and why the “cynical” media politicized New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s praise of Obama during Hurricane Sandy. “This is one of those cases where reporters are so detached from actually what it means to be in a governing role, and they think that everything is about the campaign,” said Lizza.
