SPARTANBURG, South Carolina—Republican front-runner Mitt Romney today attacked former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich for claiming he created jobs while in government, comparing it to Al Gore's claim that he invented the Internet.
Romney, whose campaign has launched an all-out assault on Gingrich, added that Gingrich's claim that he created millions of jobs along with Ronald Reagan was ridiculous.
"I was disappointed over the last couple of weeks to see one of my opponents attacking free enterprise just like the president was. That’s not the role of the Republican Party. That makes us sad. Actually — the Speaker the other day at the debate was talking about how he created millions of jobs when he was working with the Reagan administration. He’d been in Congress two years when Ronald Reagan came in to office. That’d be like saying 435 members of Congress are all responsible for those jobs. Government doesn’t create jobs. It’s the private sector that creates jobs. [applause] Now, Congressmen taking responsibility or taking credit for helping to create jobs is like Al Gore taking credit for the Internet. [laughter] Look, you’re the guys who create jobs — who put Americans to work."
Earlier today, former Rep. Susan Molinari, who worked in Congress will Gingrich, told reporters on a call organized by the Romney campaign that "[Gingrich] does not have the personality or the temperament to lead a political party, to lead a movement against President Barack Obama — and certainly to be Commander in Chief."
The call came on the heels of the campaign releasing a new ad branding Gingrich an "undisciplined leader," and word that a top Romney surrogate — former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu — is traveling to South Carolina to keep the pressure on Gingrich.
The last time Romney went on the attack like this was over a month ago when Sununu held a conference call for reporters on December 8th to attack Gingrich, followed by a week of television interviews.
But the Romney campaign largely went silent on Gingrich after deflating his poll numbers in Iowa and New Hampshire — that is, until today. Now the campaign is worried that he is on the upswing in South Carolina, and they're doing whatever they can to keep him from upsetting Romney on Saturday.
