Video: Romney to retool his campaign

>>> romney campaign pushes back against new reports that it's struggling exactly 50 days before election day . the headline in " usa today ," for instance, that red romney hits reset on campaign as he trails obama . "the new york times" writing amid discord, romney seeks to sharpen message. "the washington post " headline reads the romney campaign is in trouble. there's a new report in politico describing disorder within the romney campaign. it features anonymous campaign sources blames stewart stooerchs for the many campaign missteps to date. today babe buchanan told chuck todd that the report is false.

>> this story is ridiculous. i have been, as you said, in many presidential campaigns. the key to a good one in governor romney is absolutely clear about this, he doesn't want yes people. he wants people who are going to tell him exactly what he thinks. so you have a good table, good strong discussion and a final decision is made by the governor.

>> let's bring in our "news nation" political monday for this monday. michael is also an msnbc contributor and jonathan kalikyo and we have amy stoddard for the hill. good afternoon all three of you. michael , i want to start with an interesting assessment from the washington post today. it reads there are two sure signs a campaign is in trouble. the first is that it begins changing its strategy rapidly and erratically. the second is that it begins attacking its strategists fiercely and anonymously. when you look at this here, michael , given this description, do you think the romney campaign is in trouble.

>> yes, i think they're this frubl, but not necessarily because of the discord. i've been involved in political campaigns on a local, state and national level. never one lacking in discord. they're unique animals. it's a pressure cooker for a definitive time period . you have a lot of egos and it goes with the territory there's a lot of infighting taking place. the best campaign doesn't win with strategy alone. i think that the shortcomings thus far has been more candidate focused. i hear all day long from people desperate to get rid of barack obama as president, but they're not warm and fuzzy about mitt romney . he's just failed thus far to engender passion in support of him as compared to in opposition to obama .

>> jonathan , what is your thought amid all of these reports? if you have the ability to say, okay, let's change this one thing, what does the romney campaign need to do today?

>> i think the story is overserved a little bit. the really important thing to look at here is gallup tracking poll over time . not the ones earlier in the week. when luke at their gallup poll over time , it's been enchanged since april 29th . we've been in locked this five-point race.

>> the seven haf day tracking poll.

>> exactly. when you're in a campaign and see what's happening under the numbers where fewer people trust obama and his handling of the economy now than back in april, so he's gotten that message forward that he's the candidate of the economy. he has to change and sharpen his message and broaden it to more people. that's what you see now in that campaign. they're not talking about are you better off four years -- now than you were four years ago on the economy, but it's on debt, health care , how we view our alliances in the middle east . they'll have a broader message with sharper talking points in there.

>> more details.

>> i think it will work over time .

>> a.b., the president is campaigning in ohio today, one of the several key battleground states where polls show he's currently leading romney . when you look at this, how much do you think that plays into romney 's position to change his straench at the same time as they try to hone their message this week?

>> romney is only behind in ohio. he's behind the most there. he's behind in all the states where he wants to be ahead. nationally he's behind in the critical battlegrounds. this is not that he's so much behind, but this is a race that romney should be out in front of. he should be the front-runner by now. i think what michael and jonathan are saying is right. he needs to do something with the message. i don't think it matters what's going on with the campaign. the candidate needs to take control and needs to sell a more enthusiastic and detailed vision for what a romney presidency would look like instead of complaining about what president obama has done. he's an unpopular president with an unpopular record, and the public doesn't trust him on the economy. he's still ahead in the polls. romney is not affirmatively selling himself. that's why i think he can put out new commercials and talk about immigration today and something tomorrow, but i really think it's those debates. unless he convinces americans of those debates, that he really has the potential to be a reasonable replacement. he's probably not going to win. i think that all the ads have been seen, all the talking points have been heard. he's got to sell himself.

>> michael , please react to this. i'll ask about the article that came out about politico about the disorder. we were alluding to how stewart stevens was the focus of the political article, looking at him making very inappropriate decisions over time . it talks about the chaos surrounding his -- romney 's acceptance speech and how it wasn't completed until days before he was set to deliver it. in fact, politico said the hasty process resulted in a colossal oversight. what's your thought here?

>> i wasn't surprised by it. i think the reporting is solid, but i think you could write that kind of a story about virtually any campaign including the president's re-election effort. i think it's part and parcel in what goes on in a circumstance like this. the only other factor we haven't addressed, richard, is this situation in the middle east is normally a trump card for the republicans to thump their chests and be the party of national strength. that model doesn't apply. i think that the president's strong suit is foreign policy in this campaign, and that's a problem for governor romney .

>> jonathan , when you look at athi this, is there an opening for the republicans?

>> absolutely. the new article that talks about the message, they want to be on top of -- they made the sale on the economy, and now this is an opportunity to start talking about other things, specifically about the middle east and security issues but also about the debt and health care . i think they have an opportunity to broaden out not only to talk about the failure of obama on the economy and to present romney on all the other issues.

>> a.b., i want to shift gears a little bit. there was an interesting exchange on sunday concerning romney 's claim here that the obama administration in its dealings with israel and iran has thrown the jewish state under the bus. david gregory asked been ya minimum netanyahu the question on the governor's remark on "meet the press."

>> there's no bus and we're not getting into that discussion. we have a strong alliance and we continue to have a strong alliance. i think the important question is whether does the -- the only bus that is really important is the iranian nuclear bus.

>> so a.b., quickly here the issue of benjamin netanyahu and the president maybe not working so well together here?

>> it's very challenging one for the president. everyone knows from last week that netanyahu was upset about the fact he wasn't getting a personal meeting with the president. they obviously do not have a good relationship. everybody knows that, and the president has to take some blame for that. what is the challenge for mitt romney as president obama is challenged by this situation is that he doesn't insert himself so much into it. he's pushed into backing the prime minister in the rush to war or the ability of israelis to attack iran that could hurt him politically as well.

>> thank you so much. michael had to leave a little earlier in this segment. thank you all three for your time today.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/newsnation/49063749/

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