Romney: Gingrich Is ‘Flailing About,’ ‘Recognizing He’s in Trouble’ - East Idaho News
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Romney: Gingrich Is ‘Flailing About,’ ‘Recognizing He’s in Trouble’

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Getty P 011712 Romney?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1327917199869Joe Raedle/Getty Images(POMPANO BEACH, Fla.) — Mitt Romney said Sunday night in an interview with ABC News that he thinks Newt Gingrich is “flailing about” as Gingrich begins to recognize he’s “in trouble” in Florida.

“I feel good about Florida and feel good about the sendoff,” Romney said during an interview aboard his campaign bus.  “And as I watch Speaker Gingrich flailing about and casting about and attacking, I have to think that he’s seeing a diminution of support and recognizing he’s in trouble here.”

“And it’s not because of something we’ve done, or Rick Santorum’s done, I think it’s because people look at Speaker Gingrich and recognize this is a guy who was paid over a million dollars to stand up for Freddie Mac,” Romney said.  “People here are angry about Freddie Mac and angry about what Freddie Mac did to the value of their homes.”

Earlier on Sunday, Gingrich launched a new set of attacks against Romney, suggesting that the “Republican Party will not nominate a pro-abortion, pro-gun control, pro-tax increase moderate from Massachusetts.”

Romney called Gingrich’s attacks “unbecoming” and “painfully revealing.”

“Speaker Gingrich’s comments over the past few days have been sad and painfully revealing,” he said.  “I think we are seeing a side of Newt Gingrich that we haven’t seen since he was speaker several years ago, and I think we understand why it was his members felt that they didn’t want to support him.  You have hundreds of people who worked with Newt Gingrich when he was speaker and only a handful who are willing to support him now.”

“I think unfortunately we’re seeing the qualities that got him into so much trouble when he was speaker of House,” Romney added.  ”I hope he’ll return to the issue.  These personal character attacks are really unbecoming of a presidential candidate.”

Asked whether he is concerned that the GOP race has turned too negative, a suggestion made even by one of his own surrogates, Sen. John McCain, Romney said the character issues lobbed by Gingrich have “surprised” him.

“I think what’s surprised me in the last couple of days is seeing Speaker Gingrich bring out character attacks,” he said.  “It’s one thing to talk about differences on issues and go back and forth on our respective views, but for the speaker to launch an assault on another person’s character is really unbecoming, and I think sad and painfully revealing of his own shortcomings.”

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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