When George Stephanopoulos asked Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich to talk about their differences, neither candidate challenged the idea that Republicans should fight each other. Instead, Romney laughed at the idea that Gingrich is the best nominee to face President Obama, criticizing his lobbying -- er, strategic advice -- for Freddie Mac, while Gingrich mocked Romney for losing to Ted Kennedy when he ran for Senate in 1994.
Romney pointed out superficial differences between he and Gingrich -- such as his rival's support for mining on the moon -- before pointing out that Gingrich is a career politician and lacks Romney's experience as a job creator.
Gingrich replied quickly, "The only reason you didn't become a career politician is because you lost to Teddy Kennedy in 1994," noting that Romney "would be a 17 year career politician" if he'd won that 1994 Senate campaign.
"That's probably true," Romney answered, but "if I'd been able to get in the NFL [in keeping with a childhood dream], I'd have been a career football star." Romney added that "losing to Teddy Kennedy was probably the best thing I could have done in terms of preparing" to fix the economy as president.
Romney seems determined to brand Gingrich as a lobbyist. "We need people [from] outside Washington, outside K Street," Romney said, referring to the street in the nation's capitol known for the lobbyist offices located there. "K Street is not the private sector," he added, after Gingrich talked about his experience in the private sector.
