New Romney Ad Hits Gingrich on Freddie Mac Mitt Romney is taking his attacks on Newt Gingrich up a notch in a new television ad that tries to link him to the implosion of the housing market. In Florida Reporting on the candidates and voters in the Sunshine State. The 30-second ad, which the Romney campaign is calling "Florida Families," hits on a theme Mr. Romney and his advisers believe will resonate in Florida, which will hold its primary on Jan. 31 and was hit especially hard by mortgage defaults and home foreclosures. "While Florida families lost everything in the housing crisis, Newt Gingrich cashed in," an announcer says, noting the $1.6 million payment Mr. Gingrich's firm received as a consultant to Freddie Mac, which the ad blasts as "the scandal-ridden agency that helped create the crisis." The commercial then mocks Mr. Gingrich's explanation that he offered his services as a historian to Freddie Mac, with the announcer saying in a sarcastic tone "An historian? Mr. Gingrich isn't the only politician the ad goes after. At the end, a picture of President Obama flashes on the screen as the announcer says, "If Newt wins, this guy would be very happy." The ad is one component of Mr. Romney's plans to more aggressively question Mr. Gingrich's credibility, character and fitness for office. In recent days, Mr. Romney has pressed Mr. Gingrich to reveal more about the income he earned from Freddie Mac. He has also questioned Mr. Gingrich's stability, saying on Monday morning: "He's gone from pillar to post, almost like a pinball machine, from item to item, in a way which is highly erratic and does not suggest a stable, thoughtful course, which is normally associated with leadership." On Monday the campaign even hosted a conference call to challenge Mr. Gingrich's claim that he had not lobbied on behalf of any of his firm's consulting clients. The code given to reporters to dial into the call was "Definitely Not A Lobbyist." Some of the facts in Mr. Romney's new ad are likely to be challenged, and not just by Mr. Gingrich. Its assertion that Freddie Mac helped cause the housing crisis, a popular one among some conservatives, has been questioned by some financial experts, who note that Freddie and its counterpart, Fannie Mae, only got into the subprime loan business after private housing lenders were already deeply involved.