An assertive Mitt Romney has emerged in the GOP presidential race.
The former Massachusetts governor has shown little willingness to assail his Republican competitors over the past few months, focusing all of his criticism on President Barack Obama. But in one night, Romney became the most prominent aggressor in a growing effort by the GOP field to derail front-runner Rick Perry. And in doing so, Romney may have started to ease concern within the GOP establishment over the strength of his candidacy.
"Those doubts were erased," Steve Duprey, a Republican National Committee member from New Hampshire who is unaligned in the race, said Tuesday, a day after a Republican presidential debate in Tampa, Fla., where Romney tested out his on-the-attack approach. "In a dominant fashion, he showed he could take and fend off Governor Perry's blows and at the same time deliver sound, hard-hitting policy criticisms of Governor Perry. After that debate, Romney looked strong. Perry looked dazed."
Romney's aggressive approach here to stay
via boston.com
