The Romney Counter-Attack -- The McCain Counter-Counter Attack

First and last thing to remember: Romney has enough money to stay in and stay relevant as long as he wants.

The message: as campaign aides said last night and this morning: it’s old versus new – the past versus the future. Republican values versus McCain’s values. McCain's had time to change Washington; he has failed.

McCain’s biggest vulnerability is his age; watch the Romney campaign try to subtly exploit that. And if there’s a master at exploiting weaknesses, it’s Romney’s chief strategist, Alex Castellanos.

"I think that's what you've been hearing from the governor, and I think that's what you are going to hear from the governor. I like our chances against John McCain. I think it's pretty clear that we've got tremendous new challenges, a new generation of challenges here that require a new vision and a new leadership, and the fact is that Sen. McCain has, God bless him, he's tried his best, but we haven't seen a lot of change in Washington for the last 20 years. I think, can-do -- Mitt Romney gets things done."

A McCain aide was bemused when I told him what Castellanos had said.

"The negative stuff didn't work in Iowa, and it won't work here."

And the age thing?

"On the age thing, the people of New Hampshire have seen for themselves that he's healthy and vigorous. He has outworked the other candidates."