Image credit: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

President Obama’s top political strategist came to our “GMA” studios this morning and told me that Rick Perry is learning that “when you’re the frontrunner you become a target.”

The latest polls show that Republican primary voters now think that Perry is more electable than Mitt Romney – -a view not shared by many top strategists in both parties.  But Axelrod told me the Obama campaign doesn’t see much difference either way

“They basically support the same economic theory that got us into the mess in the first place. Tax cuts for the wealthy, special interest tax breaks for corporation like oil companies and letting Wall Street essentially write its own rules,” he said. “I don’t think the American people believe there is greater security in that for them economically and a better future for this country. So either way the debate is going to be largely the same.”

Axelrod kept his powder dry on social security, refusing to say whether Perry has effectively distanced himself from those passages in “Fed Up” that Mitt Romney threw at Perry last night. But he tied all the candidates together on the issue of jobs:

“I think they should focus on the main problem which is how do we get people back to work and how in the long term do we create security for the middle class,” he said.

The White House laid out yesterday how the President plans to pay for his $447 billion jobs plan. And Axelrod said this morning that Congress shouldn’t pick and choose from the Obama’s proposals.

“The president has a package. The package works together. We need to do many things to get this economy moving and people back to work. Not just one thing,” David Axelrod said.

“We want them to act now on this package. We are not in negotiation to break up the package. And it’s not an a la carte menu. It’s a strategy to get this country moving,” he said.

Watch the interview here:

– George Stephanopoulos