I see that Newt Gingrich took a shot at Mitt Romney today over my report on Romney's past stance on the issue of gas prices and energy efficiency, which was rather in keeping with the Obama administration approach that Romney is now attacking on the trail.
Gingrich's comment came in response to a question from National Review's Brian Bolduc during a conference call with reporters.
Asked to respond by NRO, Newt Gingrich replies, “I’m not at all surprised that the governor was for higher gas prices.” He admits that “I had not seen that particular quote,” but maintains it is evidence of “why I’m still running.”
“I just think that Governor Romney has an almost hopeless task of trying to campaign against President Obama,” Gingrich argues....
“We could be campaigning as the party of inexpensive energy,” Gingrich says. Noting that “as late as World War II, we produced 83 percent of the world’s oil,” Gingrich predicts that “with all new the drilling technologies,” the U.S. has the potential to improve its energy situation. As for his opponent, Gingrich concludes, “Governor Romney is ill positioned to take advantage of it and to explain it.”
Yes, Newt, Governor Romney is ill positioned on this issue. Then why haven't you been saying so the past few weeks as you, Romney and Santorum have all tried to make an issue of high gas prices? Why was it left to a reporter working on a hunch to execute the simple Nexis search necessary to find the incriminating quotes by Romney from one of Massachusetts' larger newspapers, from just six years ago? I realize that Gingrich and Santorum are short of cash. But really, we're not talking about a major investment here. Not to give my bosses any ideas, but a campaign intern could've done this. And this is by no means a first. Buzzfeed dynamo Andrew Kaczynski has made a name for himself by uncovering all sorts of nuggets from Romney's past that any competent oppo research team ought've found. (Today, he unearthed another green-ish line of Romney's on gas prices, from 2005.) It's just another reminder of how weak the opposition is that Romney is struggling to put away in the primaries, and what a different world Romney is going to find himself in against his general election opponent. "Reset," indeed.
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