Washington ( CNN ) -- David Axelrod , formerly one of President Barack Obama 's top advisers , said that if he were still writing Obama 's speeches , he would not have advised that the President declare his economic policies will be on the ballot for November 's midterm elections . `` I would n't put that line there , '' Axelrod said on NBC 's `` Meet the Press '' Sunday . `` It was a mistake . '' Referring to declining unemployment rate over the past six months , Obama has said his administration is responsible for the recent economic progress . `` It is a direct result of the American people 's drive and determination , '' he said in a speech at Northwestern University in Chicago last Thursday . `` It 's also the result of sound decisions made by my administration . '' `` I 'm not on the ballot this fall . But make no mistake , these policies are on the ballot . Every single one of them . '' Republicans were quick to use the sound bite in ads attacking their opponents in key battleground states . `` A vote for Greg Orman is a vote for the Obama agenda , '' a narrator says in an ad for Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts released Friday . `` Alison Grimes says this election is not about her support for President Obama and his failed policies ... But Obama himself says a vote for Alison is a vote for his policies , '' a narrator says in an ad for Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell , released Friday . The head of the Republican National Committee , Reince Priebus , also weighed in Sunday on `` Meet the Press . '' `` The President on Friday ... said that his policies are on the ballot . Well , if Barack Obama 's on the ballot and his policies are on the ballot , it 's going to be a pretty bad year for Democrats . '' While Axelrod said he would n't have included the ballot line in the President 's remarks , he did try to clarify what the President meant in terms of his position on the economy . `` But understand , if you read the speech , the context of the line was , the things he 's pushing forward -- minimum wage , pay equity , infrastructure -- these are on the ballot , '' Axelrod said . Axelrod has been a strong defender of President Obama since his departure from the White House . In August , he knocked Hillary Clinton for criticizing the President 's foreign policy approach , implying in a tweet that her vote in favor of the Iraq War as a U.S. senator in 2002 was `` stupid stuff . ''
He says ` ` it was a mistake '' for Republicans to think his policies would be on midterm ballots . Republicans were quick to use the sound bite in ads in key swing states . RNC Chairman Reince Priebus says it 's going to be ` ` a pretty bad time for Democrats ''