Mitt Romney had a good week even as his "47 percent" comments dominated the headlines, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus said Sunday. 
 
 "I think that we had a good week last week," Priebus said on ABC's "This Week." "I think in retrospect, in that we were able to frame up the debate last week in the sense of, what future do we want and do you want out there." 
 
 That came after Priebus said, earlier on in the interview, that Romney has been clear his "47 percent" remark "probably wasn't the best-said moment in the campaign" and, ultimately, this was "probably not the best week in the campaign." 
 
 That comes even as many high-profile Republicans, including Wall Street Journal columnist and former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan, have begun arguing that the Romney campaign needs a turnaround and that, even more fundamentally, the Republican Party needs to change. 
 
 "I respect and I admire people that get very concerned," Priebus said, referring to Romney's critics within the GOP. "Even if they're upset about, you know, something that happens in a campaign or if the week needs to be better, like last week," things will ultimately work out "because I think that this is a different kind of campaign." 
 
 "I promise you on my life, I'm not sitting here talking to you because I'm worried about the future of the Republican Party," Priebus said. "We're worried about the future of this country, and that's why, you know, I think that the leeway given on our side of the aisle is very small to the likes of Peggy Noonan and other writers that say, hey, listen, guys, you need to -- we need to be ahead, we need to be pounding away." 
 
 Read more about: Mitt Romney, Reince Priebus, Peggy Noonan ||||| Former President Bill Clinton is just as in the dark as the rest of the political world about whether Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will run for president in 2016. 
 
 "I have no earthly idea what she'll decide to do," Clinton said of his wife's plans in an appearance Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation." 
 
 Hillary Clinton has "worked hard for 20 years" during the Clintons' eight years in the White House, the same amount of time representing New York in the Senate and four as secretary of state "and she's tired," the former president said. 
 
 "She's done a fabulous job, I'm very proud of her," he said. "But she wants to take some time off, kind of regroup, write a book, I hope we'll be working together" on the Clinton Global Initiative and other projects. 
 
 "We ought to give her a chance to organize her life and decide what she wants to do. I just don't know," the former president said. 
 
 But if she does decide to run, Clinton will back her. "Whatever she does, I'm for her first, last and always," he said. "She has extraordinary ability ... she'll push a rock up the hill as long as it takes to get up the hill." 
 
 Read more about: Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, 2016 Elections ||||| David Brooks is continuing his assault on Mitt Romney. 
 
 Appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday, The New York Times conservative columnist continued his full assault on the Republican presidential nominee, saying he's simply not into his campaign. 
 
 "Mitt Romney does not have the passion for the stuff he’s talking about," Brooks said. "He’s a problem solver. I think he’s a non-ideological person running in an extremely ideological age, and he’s faking it. So if I were him, I’d go to what he’s been for the last several decades of his life: be a PowerPoint guy. Say ‘I’m making a sales pitch to the country here are the four things I’m going to reform. You don’t have to love me but I’m going to do these four things for you.’ And so I’d do a much more wonky and detailed thing than he’s done so far." 
 
 Read more about: New York Times, Mitt Romney, David Brooks ||||| Mitt Romney’s comment that 47 percent of Americans see themselves as “victims” who depend on government was a “political analysis,” a top campaign surrogate said Sunday morning. 
 
 “That certainly was a political analysis at a fundraiser, but it’s not a governing philosophy,” Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “He absolutely has a vision for 100 percent of America. And that is very different from this president.” 
 
 Read more about: Mitt Romney, Kelly Ayotte ||||| Mitt Romney is "not qualified" for the presidency under his own definition of what it takes to occupy the Oval Office, Obama senior strategist David Axelrod said Sunday. 
 
 "Two months ago on your own air, he said that anybody who didn't take the deductions they were owed wasn't qualified to be president," Axelrod said on ABC's "This Week." "Well, I guess he's not qualified, because that's exactly what he did last week to try and get his number up from 9 percent or 10 percent to 14 percent." 
 
 
 
 "It's fair to say that a lot of those 47 percent that he was slandering earlier in the week probably pay more -- a higher percentage of their income in taxes overall than he does," Axelrod added. 
 
 The top Obama strategist made clear the campaign isn't yielding on the issue. "You know, we learned some things. But he still hasn't disclosed any years before 2010. His father was the one who set the standard -- 12 years -- and you know why?" Axelrod said. " He said you put out one or two years, you can manipulate them to give false impressions. So the question for people is, what?" 
 
 But, as Obama aides have been saying for months, Romney's reluctance to divulge more details of his taxes points to the candidate's broader avoidance of disclosure and specifics about his plans for the White House, Axelrod said. "The bigger issue isn't that the isn't being straight about his own taxes. The bigger issue is that he isn't being straight about what he's going to do to everyone else's taxes," he added. 
 
 Read more about: David Axelrod, Mitt Romney ||||| Obama senior strategist David Axelrod on Sunday described the last week as an "enlightening" one for people hoping to get a better look at Mitt Romney, but not a "good" one, as Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus suggested. 
 
 "Well, I don't know what prism he's looking through," Axelrod said on ABC's "This Week," speaking just after Priebus said that it was a "good" week for Republicans though "probably not the best week in the campaign." 
 
 "I don't think anybody else would define it as a good week," Axelrod said. "But it was an enlightening week. The week began with Governor Romney basically slandering 47 percent of America, saying that they were, you know, hooked on dependency, didn't pay their taxes, and so on. And at the end of the week, we saw him manipulating his own tax returns to try and plump up his portion of taxes to 14 percent." 
 
 Read more about: David Axelrod, Mitt Romney, Reince Priebus
– Hillary Clinton may or may not run for president in 2016, but Bill Clinton is doing nothing to disabuse supporters of their hopes, reports Politico. Appearing today on Face the Nation, Clinton said, "I have no earthly idea what she'll decide to do," before repeating the oft-repeated line that "she's worked hard for 20 years, and she's tired." One definite: "She wants to take some time off, kind of regroup, write a book, I hope we'll be working together" on the Clinton Global Initiative. "I think we ought to give her a chance to organize her life and decide what she wants to do," he concluded. Elsewhere on your Sunday dial, as per Politico: David Brooks on Mitt Romney: "Romney does not have the passion. He’s a problem solver. I think he’s a non-ideological person running in an extremely ideological age, and he’s faking it. So if I were him, I’d go to what he’s been for the last several decades: be a PowerPoint guy. Say ‘I’m making a sales pitch to the country. You don’t have to love me but I’m going to do these four things for you.’" Kelly Ayotte on Romney's 47% gaffe: “That certainly was a political analysis at a fundraiser, but it’s not a governing philosophy. He absolutely has a vision for 100% of America. And that is very different from this president.” Reince Priebus on GOP's 'good week': "I think in retrospect, in that we were able to frame up the debate." Of Romney's GOP critics: I respect and I admire people that get very concerned." David Axelrod on GOP's 'good week': "Well, I don't know what prism he's looking through. I don't think anybody else would define it as a good week." And Axelrod on Romney's taxes: "Two months ago, he said that anybody who didn't take the deductions they were owed wasn't qualified to be president. Well, I guess he's not qualified, because that's exactly what he did last week to try and get his number up from 9% or 10% to 14%."