Axelrod said 'Romney came in and basically played a shell game.' | AP Photos Axelrod: Mitt 'dishonesty' in debate

The top strategist for President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign on Thursday accused Mitt Romney of “fundamental dishonesty” during the first debate.

“The problem isn’t with [Romney’s] performance; the problem is with his underlying theories and some fundamental dishonesty that we saw last night,” Obama senior adviser David Axelrod said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “The president came in and treated people like adults, talked about what we needed to do to move this country forward, rebuild the middle class, rebuild this economy and Gov. Romney came in and basically played a shell game.”


( Also on POLITICO: Fact-checking the Denver debate)

During an earlier appearance on NBC’s “Today,” Axelrod argued the first debate failed to change the dynamics of the race.

”I expected a strong performance, got a strong performance, but that’s what it was, a performance,” Axelrod said. “The underlying facts remain the underlying facts.”

( See also: Complete coverage of 2012 presidential debates)