'Don't be repulsive': Romney rips into Gingrich on TV

REPUBLICAN presidential hopeful Mitt Romney turned his fire on rival Newt Gingrich in the final debate before the crucial Florida primary on Tuesday, and according to most observers emerged victorious.
 
"Bowed, bloodied but manifestly unbroken, Mitt Romney pulled off a comeback worthy of Rocky Balboa last night, regaining the offensive against an insurgent Newt Gingrich," reported The Times.
 
The American media agreed that it was Romney who won the day. The LA Times kept up the boxing theme, describing how Romney "tore into Newt Gingrich" looking for a "knockout blow", while the Boston Herald said he turned "the face-off into a front-runner slugfest".

The tone was set early on with a heated exchange over immigration. Earlier in the week Gingrich had been forced to withdraw an advert describing Romney as "anti-immigrant" and Romney pressed home his advantage.  "The idea that I'm anti-immigrant is repulsive," said Romney, who reminded viewers his own father had been born in Mexico. "Don't use a term like that."
 
The pair clashed over the housing market and Romney mocked Gingrich's plan to set up a permanently manned US moon base. "If I had a business executive come to me and say they wanted to spend a few hundred billion dollars to put a colony on the moon, I'd say, 'You're fired,'" he said.
 
Romney's aggressive approach surprised many, but it paid off as he fought hard to reclaim the ground claimed by Gingrich in recent weeks. The Guardian points out that Romney hired a new debate coach, Brett O'Donnell, after the Iowa caucuses three weeks ago, but his team played down his influence.

The Washington Post concluded: "The tension between the two contenders was evident throughout the evening, confirming how significant the next several days could be in the race. Gingrich arrived here with momentum from his victory in South Carolina, but polls show the contest is extremely tight heading into the weekend." ·