Reince Priebus: 'Nowhere Else To Go But Up' For Mitt Romney

On the eve of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus appeared near the event site to argue his party would only go up from here, while President Barack Obama would struggle to remain in the game.

"Here in Charlotte, the president is going to be on defense, desperately trying to paper over the dismal record and make struggling Americans forget about their problems," Priebus said at a press conference.

"The thrill and pixie dust of Barack Obama's presidency is gone," he added later.

A group of Republicans will be in Charlotte all week to respond to the convention with press conferences and other events that Priebus declined Monday to reveal. For now, he said he's confident their efforts are working and that they would win "if the election was held today."

"We're getting a lot of momentum out of last week," he said. "We've just got nowhere else to go but up."

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) appeared at the same press conference, repeatedly mentioning the government's failure to pass a budget and asking how the president can possibly run on his record. Asked what responsibility Republicans had in that failure -- they have admitted to trying to block most of his policies -- Chaffetz said they had nothing to do with it.

"We're supposed to have some give and take, we're supposed to have some back and forth," he said, noting House Republicans passed a budget this year.

Priebus glossed over a question on the prominent speaking spot last week for Rep. Artur Davis, who served as a Democrat before switching to the Republican Party, after he mocked Democrats for giving appearances to former Republicans Charlie Crist, who served as governor of Florida, and Lincoln Chafee, governor of Rhode Island.

Those two men are "not exactly bright stars of the future," Priebus said, and are speaking here because they have "nowhere else to go."