Newt Gingrich Moves Into Attack Mode Against Mitt Romney

No one is suggesting anymore that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is running for Presidents strictly to sell books or to increase his speaking fees. As he watches his poll numbers zoom and sees himself attaining front-runner status in some key polls, he now looks like he’s seriously going for it. For instance, note these recent attack comments against former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who is still being call the front runner but who has lost that status in some new polls:

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich continued his push against rival GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Monday, saying Democratic swipes against the former Massachusetts governor as a flip-flopper are “legitimate.”

“If you run to the left of Teddy Kennedy, it is trickier than trying to run to the right of Newt Gingrich,” Gingrich said in an exclusive interview with CNN’s “John King, USA,” referring to Romney’s failed Senate bid against liberal lion Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts.

AND:

Responding to critics who label Romney’s record as inconsistent, Gingrich said: “Part of it is the way he (Romney) did some of it. I think it is legitimate.”

AND:

Gingrich said Romney had failed to account for his health care positions, as the former governor strongly opposes President Barack Obama’s sweeping health care reform, largely modeled after the Bay State system that Romney helped craft as governor.

“Mitt raised this issue in one of our debates. If I would have been clever, I would say I’ve admitted I was wrong,” Gingrich told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King. “I’ve learned and I’ve changed my mind. Why haven’t you?”

AND:

“I wouldn’t lie to the American people; I wouldn’t switch my position for political reason. It’s perfectly reasonable to change positions if you see new things you didn’t see,” he said in the radio interview.

And, no, that isn’t a punch line. Gingrich — who has notoriously shifted positions (such as his stand on how to respond to Libya) is insisting he just doesn’t switch it for political reasons.

“Everybody does that, Ronald Reagan did that. If you go around and adopt radically different positions based on need for any one election, people will ask, ‘What will you tell me next time?’

Expect a lot more of this — and counter attacks by Romney — if Gingrich’s poll numbers continue their ascent.

What will also help Gingrich: Gingrich is already indicating he isn’t going to use the Sarah Palin playbook of only going on Fox News to take softall questions from the GOP’s unofficial p.r. officer Sean Hannity. He’s going right into the Lion’s Den because if nothing else he is a veteran national political pro. Romney is MIA when it comes to doing live interviews on networks. He’s acting like a President in the 20th century running for re-election — as if he can afford to evade interviews. If this continues, this will help Gingrich in the longrun.