Obama's campaign strategist says Mitt Romney is "still the 25 percent man."
David Axelrod on Wednesday belittled the "great enthusiasm" for Republicans of Iowa, pointing out Romney actually received six fewer votes than he did four years ago. Romney on Tuesday edged Rick Santorum by eight votes during Iowa's Republican caucuses.
The Obama campaign team, based in Chicago, went on the attack during a state-of-the-race telephone conference call Wednesday morning.
Even with Sen. Rick Santorum's strong Iowa showing, Team Obama clearly sees Romney as the eventual GOP nominee. Axelrod predicted Romney will "take Senator Santorum apart."
During the call, Axelrod took a dig at Romney's Super PAC for its "most brutal" yet "very effective" ad campaign that pummeled opponents Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry. But when asked if the Obama team will take the same tact with negative advertising, Axelrod didn't flinch.
"Are we going to call him on it, when his Super PAC attacks? Yes we will."
As Axelrod sees it, "we are going to draw legitimate contrasts."
On post-Caucus Day, Campaign Manager Jim Messina made a point to note Obama's presence in Iowa. The Obama campaign has opened eight field offices and has 7,500 pledged volunteers, Messina said.
