Newt Calls Mitt a Liar

From a partial transcript of CBS's Early Show this morning (via Mike Allen): 

NORAH O'DONNELL, to NEWT GINGRICH, on CBS "Early Show": "I have to ask, are you calling Mitt Romney a liar?"

GINGRICH: "Yes."

O'DONNELL: "You are calling Mitt Romney a liar?"

GINGRICH: "Well you seemed shocked by it, yes. I mean, what else could you say? ... I just think he ought to be honest with the American people and try to win as the real Mitt Romney, not try to invent a poll-driven, consultant-guided version who goes around with talking points. And he ought to be candid. I don't think he is being candid, and that will be a major issue from here on out for the rest of this campaign. The country gets to decide, do you want a Massachusetts moderate who won't level with you to run against Barack Obama, who will frankly tear him apart. I mean, he will not survive against the Obama machine."

Newt Gingrich seems now to be frustrated that his poll numbers dropped like stones. (Remember when he was leading in polls a couple weeks ago?) The fall was at least in part because of "an onslaught of negative ads," as Politico put it, and a weak response, which was "to complain about the negativity and insist that he would stay positive. Then he repeatedly undermined his own attempt to stay on the high road by criticizing his GOP rivals."