“I know a lot of people will talk about delegates and strategies and math and that’s all very interesting to the insiders,” Romney said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.” “But I think the American people want to see someone who has the leadership, skill and experience to defeat the president, and a vision of conservatism that will get American back on track again.”

But rewind to Tuesday when he told reporters ahead of the Alabama and Mississippi primaries: “This is all about getting delegates. If the polls are right, we’ll pick up some delegates. That’s what it’s all about.”

Later that day, after Santorum won both states, Romney said in a written statement that he was “pleased that we will be increasing our delegate count in a very substantial way after tonight.”…

The former Massachusetts governor’s team in Boston has been aggressively touting their delegate advantage, using terms for their rivals’ ultimate fate like: “date of mathematical elimination.” But Romney’s advisers also seem to be heeding warning calls coming from inside and outside of the Republican Party that math is not a message.