Axelrod: Oil Rig Pullout 'Not Optimal'

The exit of oil drilling rigs from the Gulf of Mexico "is not an optimal situation," David Axelrod tells Fox News Sunday, but it's not un-optimal enough to lift the White House's moratorium on new drilling. While "the president does not want to stop drilling," the senior aide says, "obviously we're dealing with the greatest environmental catastrophe of all time. We don’t want a repeat of it because we’re imprudent." Elsewhere on the Axelrod-dominated Sunday dial, as per Politico:

• "There's no doubt" the GOP could take the House in November, says Robert Gibbs. "There are enough seats in play."
• The president's lagging popularity is no surprise, says Ax. "We're going through a very difficult time in this country."
• Jon Kyl had a little advice for Michael Steele: He "needs to stop making comments that create this kind of furor. His job is to raise money and support the state parties around the country."
• “I’m a little tired of her being kicked around,” Rep. Trent Franks says of fellow Arizona Republican Jan Brewer. “This is an honorable, decent lady who cares about her country.”

(More David Axelrod stories.)