Image source: The New York Times

BY ZACH TOOMBS

Two weeks ago, polls showed Newt Gingrich holding a powerful lead in the GOP field in both Iowa and New Hampshire. Now, after becoming a favorite target for Super PAC attack ads from Mitt Romney and Ron Paul, Gingrich has slipped back into the field’s second tier, and he’s not happy about it.

In the past few days, Gingrich has claimed Romney is hiding the truth about his cooperation with Super PACs. Gingrich made headlines with this comment on CBS’ Early Show on Tuesday.

NORAH O’DONNELL: “I have to ask you: are you calling Mitt Romney a liar?”
GINGRICH: “Yes.”
NORAH O’DONNELL: “You’re calling Mitt Romney a liar?”
GINGRICH: “Well, you seem shocked by it... yes. I mean, what else could you say?”
NORAH O’DONNELL: “Why are you saying he’s a liar?”
GINGRICH: “Because this is a man whose staff created the PAC. His millionaire friends fund the PAC. He pretends he has nothing to do with the PAC. It’s bologna. He’s not telling the American people the truth.”

Gingrich has made no secret of his anger toward Romney for what he sees as a political hit job carried out by Romney Super PACs.  Although those Super PACs aren’t permitted to cooperate directly with a campaign, they are allowed the ability to pour money into that campaign and into ads such as this one.

“Why is this man smiling? Because his plan is working. Brutally attack Mitt Romney and hope Newt Gingrich is his opponent. Why? Newt has a ton of baggage, like the fact that Gingrich was fined $300,000 for ethics violations.”

On MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Meet the Press host David Gregory predicts the Romney-Gingrich feud will lead to an unpleasant turn of events for the GOP presidential race as candidates shift their focus on New Hampshire and South Carolina.

JOE SCARBROUGH: “This is about to get pretty ugly.”
GREGORY: “Well, it is. I think that Romney, even if he comes out of here with a win, which would be significant, I think, is still going to be a weak frontrunner running against a constellation, not a candidate, not a defined number two. But there’s going to be a number of candidates - Gingrich is going to be front and center who are really going to try to rip his face off.”

Gingrich’s harsh words for Romney prompted a speedy but mostly mild response from the former Massachusetts governor on FOX News.

STEVE DOOCY: “Your response -- being called a liar.”
ROMNEY: “Well, I understand Newt must be very angry, and I don’t exactly understand why. But I wish him well. It’s a long road ahead. He’s a good guy. I like he and Callista, and we’ve got many months ahead of us, so I’ll leave it at that.”

But, as Romney tries to solidify his status as the GOP’s frontrunner, many analysts, including Nate Silver of The New York Times’ FiveThirtyEight blog, agree attacking Romney could become dangerous for Republican rivals, saying:

“It gets MUCH harder to attack Romney if/when he wins IA/NH. Then you’re hurting the presumptive nominee.”

Still, few pundits expect that sentiment will convince Gingrich to soften his rhetoric. On his campaign bus Monday, Gingrich told ABC News his post-Iowa game plan would put Romney front and center.

“He set the terms of the campaign, so starting, you know, Wednesday morning, we’ll lay out here’s my record, here’s his record. You choose. And we’ll do that every day until I win the nomination.”