President Obama's chief political adviser is calling President Barack Obama's road to re-election a "Titanic struggle."

And David Axelrod also concedes that the Democratic president doesn't have the wind at his back.

Axelrod shared his stark assessment on the next election with a crowd of New Hampshire politicians and business leaders Tuesday morning. Despite the challenge, he jabbed the field of Republicans jockeying for the chance to face Obama in 2012.