Obama camp attacks Romney on eve of Santorum victories

President Obama's campaign sent out a fundraising plea attacking Mitt Romney on the night Rick Santorum swept the Alabama and Mississippi primaries.

In an fundraising email on Tuesday evening campaign manager Jim Messina warned that if the 2012 election were held today, Obama would lose.

"We cannot underestimate someone like Romney who has shown he will spend and say anything to win," he wrote.

Senior Obama adviser David Axelrod also attacked Romney, writing on his Twitter account: "@MittRomney You know what they say: as America Samoa goes, so goes the nation!"

In his email, Messina cited a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll which found Romney barely eking out Obama in a head-to-head matchup.

"If the general election were held today, President Obama would lose to Mitt Romney -- according to the latest poll from Washington Post-ABC News," Messina wrote in the email. "We cannot underestimate someone like Romney who has shown he will spend and say anything to win."

The email came out before the Tuesday primaries were officially called, although Santorum was leading Romney.

Messina did write that it was important not to overreact though.

"Of course, we have plenty of good news to celebrate, and we must not overreact to any one poll," Messina added in the email. "But this one is a reminder that we have to remain vigilant -- always focused on November 6th and the work we have to do to win."

The poll, released Monday, found Romney beating Obama 47 percent to 46 percent. A month earlier, the last time the Washington Post- ABC News poll was taken, 52 percent said they would vote for Obama while 43 percent said they would vote for Romney.

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