“Speaker Gingrich was at single digits for a long time, suddenly jumps to a lead — that doesn’t suggest a very thorough examination led to that level of support, rather an expectation of an ideal candidate, and he may or may not be able to fulfill that expectation,” he said.
Romney also addressed what many analysts consider a clear vulnerability: the fact that he has not been able to expand his support in the national polls much above 25 percent. He put a positive gloss on the numbers. “I’ve been either in the lead or second in the rankings pretty much all year, and that suggests a level of stability that I hope is able to be built upon in the contests themselves,” he said.
At times, Romney appeared to pull his punches with Gingrich. He was asked about a moment in Saturday’s debate during a discussion of the former speaker’s characterization of the Palestinians as an “invented” people. Romney said that night that he was not a bomb thrower “rhetorically or literally.”
“I wasn’t referring to the speaker,” he said. “I was referring to myself. I said I was not a bomb thrower. I don’t think I would’ve said that he is a bomb thrower. I don’t think I would’ve said that. What I would’ve said is that I am a person of sobriety, steadiness, patience, and act in a deliberate way to protect America’s interests and that of our allies.”
But he quickly returned to Ryan’s Medicare proposal. He said entitlement reform is “one of the most defining issues of conservatism today” and attacked Gingrich again on the subject.
“I think his comment on the Paul Ryan plan was an intemperate comment. I think him calling it suicide is a mistake. I know it can be popular with some people to use extreme language, but we’re talking about the presidency of the United States, and if one says intemperate things in a campaign, might one say the same kinds of things in the White House? And the consequences are potentially severe.”
As the interview concluded, Romney addressed the general election and attacks that have begun from the Obama team. He said he believed he would be the strongest candidate and offered a preview of how he would defend himself.
“I believe the question on the minds of the American people will be whether or not President Obama’s policies have failed and are likely to continue failing them,” he said. “I do not believe class warfare and demonization of an individual or a percentage of Americans is the course for building a greater America. This is a president who talked about bringing America together. Is he going to run a campaign based on tearing America apart?”
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