On Wednesday, Republicans sought to define Obama as untested and inexperienced, making light of his past work as a community organizer in Chicago.

Obama said the attack was weak.

"They're talking about the three years of work I did right out of college, as if I'm making the leap from two or three years out of college into the presidency," he said.

Ultimately, Axelrod said, the Republicans squandered an opportunity to promote their candidate. He also questioned the emphasis on McCain's years as a prisoner of war, saying the Arizona senator's history already was well known.

"They're shedding an awfully lot of heat but no light," he said. "It almost defies the laws of physics."

As for Palin's claim to be a political outsider, Axelrod said that given her pointed criticism of Obama, "for someone who makes the point that she's not from Washington, she looked very much like she would fit in very well there."