Time for Mitt Romney to attack Newt Gingrich?

The mild-mannered moderate's backers urge him to get more aggressive to drag the surging Gingrich back to Earth

Mitt Romney
(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

With the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses fast approaching, and Newt Gingrich increasing his lead in polls, some of Mitt Romney's supporters are urging him to ditch his "mild-mannered" style and go into attack mode. They say the former Massachusetts governor needs to trip up Gingrich and show he can handle what promises to be a tough fight against President Obama. While Romney is vowing to get more aggressive, if not go into full-on battle, some political junkies say the former businessman should stay focused on the economy and avoid tarnishing his hard-earned reputation. What is Romney's best strategy?

Attacking Gingrich is a waste of time: Gingrich is not Romney's main problem, says Chris Stirewalt at Fox News. Mitt's real challenge is winning over "the three quarters of Republican voters who don't believe (he) is one of them." Romney doesn't have much time left to make the sale, and he'll never succeed if he focuses his energies and resources on "ending the current Newtness."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us