Mitt Romney’s campaign might appear to be collapsing like a cheap card table, but one top Democrat close to President Barack Obama had a curt warning for allies who were declaring the election all but over on Tuesday. 
 
 It ain’t over, he said, until Karl Rove sings. 
 
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 reset Romney on defense after remarks Big Question: What should Romney do? 
 
 That litmus test of when George W. Bush’s former impresario gives up on the race reflects the unprecedented strength of the powerful money machine supporting the GOP. It also shows why even a wounded Republican standard-bearer could limp to victory in November. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: Mitt Romney, man of constant sorrow) 
 
 “I’ll relax when Karl Rove wakes up one morning and realizes that Mitt Romney can’t win the White House, and he needs to throw all his money at other races,” the adviser told POLITICO hours after Mother Jones posted hidden video of Romney describing Obama supporters as a government-dole-addicted 47 percent of the population who will never vote for the Republican. 
 
 “Until Rove does that, we are going to get outpaced by two to one, at least, by these super PACs. Add a couple of good debates for Romney, and the fact that he’s doing well in North Carolina, and [Paul] Ryan’s put Wisconsin in play — there’s your tight race.” 
 
 Caution is not the message emanating from the Washington echo chamber or from giddy Democrats — and depressed Republicans — who are drafting Romney’s political obituary with nearly 50 news cycles before Election Day. 
 
 But Romney, however humbled, has nearly 50 more chances to change the narrative. Despite his stunning missteps, his failure to articulate an attractive rationale for his candidacy, a growing GOP pessimism and tales of corrosive internal dissent, he remains within easy striking distance of Obama in most polls and is showing no signs of imminent collapse. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: Romney woes jangle GOP nerves) 
 
 His support isn’t likely to dip much below 45 percent to 47 percent largely because nine in 10 Republicans are backing him. 
 
 “President Obama may make major strategic decisions in response to two tough days in the fishbowl — but that’s not how Crossroads rolls,” said Jonathan Collegio, spokesman for the Rove-linked groups American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS. “Every state where Romney needs to win is tight — we know this; our donors know this; and we’re continuing with our plan to end this train wreck of a presidency that has been Obama’s last four years.” 
 
 There aren’t a lot of raging optimists in Obama’s inner circle anyway, and now, they are being very careful, in private, to moderate their glee with a realism. 
 
 “Democrats should just remember Florida 2000 before they get cocky,” veteran Democratic strategist Karen Finney said. “It’s the stuff you don’t see that goes under the radar — the robocalls … fliers and mailings. … That’s the kind of stuff you can’t detect. Karl Rove knows how to win,” she said. 
 
 A Democrat close to the campaign said national and international events could still upend the race. 
 
 “Could Mitt still get his s—- together and win? Sure. Could Obama have a couple of really bad economic reports, a couple of bad incidents in the Mideast, could Mitt outperform expectations in the debates? Yeah. … The bottom line is we’ve got to keep everybody focused ’cause no election has ever been won this far out.” 
 
 That isn’t to say Democrats aren’t elated by the latest turn of events. ||||| Dow Jones Reprints: This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, use the Order Reprints tool at the bottom of any article or visit www.djreprints.com
– As pundits were pronouncing Mitt Romney's chances all but gone yesterday, Politico summed up the thoughts of one skeptical Dem strategist this way: "It ain't over until Karl Rove sings." Well, Rove weighed in on the matter today, and he's not singing. The fuss over Romney's remarks on the 47% and on Libya before them "is a classic example of the commentariat investing moments with more meaning than they deserve," he writes in the Wall Street Journal. This will blow over, just as Obama's "you didn't build that" controversy did. Romney, though, better brace for lots of attacks on the issue and be deft in deflecting them. He also needs to get more specific on his plans to help the middle class, suggests Rove. Yes, Romney has big challenges, but Obama does, too, especially on the economy, so let's wait and see what the debates bring before calling the race. Romney "must reassure voters he's up to the job of being president," while the "fluid and agile" Obama "will be expected to command each encounter." If the president falls short, the polls might turn against him. Click for Rove's full column.