Panama City, Florida (CNN) – After largely ignoring Newt Gingrich in a series of campaign stops, Mitt Romney on Saturday called his chief GOP rival "a very nice fellow" and "a great guy with a lot of great ideas."
But Romney wasn't calling a truce in the drawn-out battle between the two front-runners for the Republican nomination. Amid the compliments, the former Massachusetts governor aimed a flurry of blows at Gingrich over his leadership as House speaker.
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"He's an historian. But that doesn't give him the right to rewrite history," Romney said to an audience of several hundred at a ship building plant in Panama City. "He was fined for ethics violations. He ultimately had to resign in disgrace. He can't rewrite history."
Romney's turnaround was notable after a series of appearances during which the candidate did not mention the former speaker by name, or named Gingrich only when mocking his comments about two debates this week.
In Panama City, however, Romney reminded the audience they could help him clinch the nomination by turning out to vote in Florida's primary January 31.
"Now I'm speaking to you today as though I'm already the candidate for president for the Republican party," he said. "But I'm not. I've still got some primaries to go through."
He told the audience that Gingrich had "failed" to lead the party during his speakership.
"We have to go back and look at history and say he may be a great guy with a lot of great ideas, but he is not the leader we need at a critical time," Romney said.
In an appearance earlier in the day, Gingrich called Romney a "dishonest" debater and signaled he would not abandon his bid were Romney to win in Florida.
"I will go all the way to the convention," Gingrich told members of the media in Port St. Lucie. "I expect to win the nomination."
–CNN Political Producer Shawna Shepherd contributed to this report.
Also see:
Romney: Gingrich debates complaints like 'Goldilocks'
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What Romney does not say, is that Gingrich was found to have been correct in the end two years afterwards. My issue is that Gingrich is not defending himself enough. It is ridiculous that he is not pointing out this fact more and more...
So tired of the Bickersons. We already know who has done what to whom. Time for all of you to give up what you plan to do for the American people. I am guessing that would be a short speech.
the bible belt of fla
obama 2012,the rest are losers in 2012
Good for you Mitt. I am an Obama supporter, but I am in your corner on this. Newt is a hypocrite of the worst kind. Does he REALLY think that the rest of America outside of the south would forget his trying to impeach Clinton while he was fooling around on his wife – with his current wife. Hello Calista! Send this charlatan packing and give him what for so he NEVER tries to run for president anymore. I cannot believe Newt!
.
Romney is desperate. He has been running for president for years and this is probably his last shot at the White House. Gingrich is the only obstacle standing in his way, therefore, he will employ every extreme measure in an attempt to escape defeat.
Mitt Romney needs to power through this nomination process and be the guy to send Obama back to Chicago. He is too intelligent to let Obama fool the American people with his pathetic class warfare strategy. Obama has had 3 years to help "the middle class" and instead has made Washington a dysfunctional political mess. Enough. It's time to put the focus back on the population outside of Washington, the economy and the $16 trillion pile of debt. Mitt Romney is ready and fully capable of doing just that.
Romney and Gingrich really enjoy beating each other up. Here is what I would like to hear from both candidates but, of course, never will:
Mr. President – Bush/Cheney nearly wrecked the country big time. The steps you took to correct this was the only thing that saved this country from utter financial ruin. And, you are correct, the Republican party has blocked every single thing you have tried to do to help the country recover and put people back to work. This was a planned stratagy to make you fail, knowing the country will also fail, but we did not care as all we wanted is to take back the White House at any and all costs.. Our behavior was sinister, un-American and totally shameful. Being a Republican today is nothing to be proud of.
Vote for Mitt Romney can save America!!!
Romney reminds me of that car salesman who sold me a piece of junk, when I bought my first car. The Guy saw how wet behind the ears I was, and took me for a ride without no pity. This is what mitten is doing with the gullible in our country. He's selling them gilloppi that have been tried, worn out and rejected, just like his trickle down voodoo economics.
Why would anyone trust Gingrich..he's lied in every house he has been in, House of Rep and his own house to his wives. What makes you think he wouldn't lie in the White House.
How can any one vote for Mitt? Why do you think he will care about the working class American.
We need one of the other guys to win the nomination.
Did any of Mitts five sons speak today at the VA hospital ?
All five avoided military service.
this not news, all newt knows what to do is vilefy mitt.
Where are the blacks and Latinos at both the debates and in the photographs of the candidates in Florida and elsewhere? Among the thousands of people, you can count only a handful of blacks and Latinos. Could they know better than not to be used as "props" by the Republicans? They are only thought about (and trotted out) during campaign time by the Republicans, then they are forgotten with the horrible social programs the Republicans want to enact and sometimes succeed in doing.
Hey, Mitt, where's your birth certificate? You still haven't proven you're eligible to run for president.
Ask the clown romney about the big dig in Boston. The fiscil conserveitive, that fueled the project from 1.5 billions dallars to 15 billion dallars under his gov. No mass resident will vote for him.
Both lie, lack ethics, and morals. What the GOP has put forth says a lot about the party. No new ideas. Gingrich, Paul, and Romney are all GOP has been consolation prizes from previous elections. None ever got the GOP nomination and lost. Yet this is what the GOP is touting? It's more about the failure of the party to me.
LOL – what a laugh – the newter is all of a sudden a "historian" ?? lol – yep -that's right -'ol newter is a historian alright – I guess when he was a "historian" working for freddie mac – taking 1.6 million from them – so the historian tells people that the palestinians were "inventive " people ?? That's like saying that the American Indians were "inventive" people. WoW the newter is a piece of work, alright. I'm not defending the palestinians, nor the Indians, but the newter HAD to say that he was a "historian" because he's already denied that he was a Lobbyist for them. It's a wonder why freddie mac doesn't ask the newter for their money back – by rights, they should ask the newter for every penny of their 1.6 million.
Larry in Houston
The serial adulterer named Newt is running for the GOP nomination in order to re-elect President Obama.
Romney, with his huge war chest is planning on buying the GOP nomination. If he wins, it will be a repeat of McCain in 2008.
To Newt Gingrich "English should be the language of the USa". Then why are you have doing spanish political ad?
I am Newt Gingrich: I’m not a hypocrite
Romney's mistake from the beginning was "beating up" on President Obama when he didn't even secure his base or the nomination; he was not even close. For that error, he allowed every bit of dirt to come out on him that should have waited until the General Election. Now his has to “about face” and fight with ginGRINCH, Santorum and Paul because they are hitting him hard.
Now that all of the “negatives” about Romney are tucked away and well recorded, it will come back and BITE him HARD in the General Election and he would have to answer to them once again during the time when ALL of America is listening.
Obama 2012!
Mitt Romney is not the one to represent America as our president he cannot beat Obama. I am serious if Romney gets the GOP Obama will beat him. I guarantee you he will. Obama has the money behind him that Romney doesn't and I guarantee you Obama will cover Romney with a fine tooth comb because he has the money and backers to do it. And the American people is going to find out Romney is not the true arrow that he claims to be. That he in fact was a shark investor and took over companies that he could bankrupt and make big money off of it. He has destroyed more jobs then he has created as a true honest beyond lying to the people of America Mormon I bet he could not honestly stand before the people of America and explain how honestly he earned the funds from bain wired to a polygraoh.
I also think Sarah Palin is right Ronald Reagan would be ashamed of the conservative republican party right now. Because I think they are backing a very liberal closer to a democrat then a republican candidate. Mitt Romney is a flip flopper and not a true conservative and never has been and to many people know that. So you see Obama doesn't lose in November.
Unfortunately, Romney as well as the GOP ONLY cares about money and profits are more important than people, their motto is: Greed is Good. Obviously the GOP have NO Christian values because, in 1Timothy 6:10, "The Love of Money Is The Root Of All Evil" The GOP are HYPOCRITES, because they spout Christan Values, but they are the Pharisees, They talk about the laws of God, but refuse to ACTUALLY live by the laws themselves, Sad, sad.
It does grate on the chalkboard to read Gingrich comment on another person's dishonesty.
this idiot is wasting time and money. Let him spend money at least in USA, because he caused damage by shipping jobs to China. Let him spend money. He is for banning your social security, Medicare, corporate, Greed, Oil, shipping jobs overseas, vulture capitalist, and private equity capitalist, paid Tax only 13.8% while middle class paid 38 percent. No way this idiot worth for a dime.....
It's intersting that people are now supporitng the same Wall Street guy, who was part of the meltdown problem. GOP didn't find a good candidate?