Gingrich camp defends attacks on Romney's Bain record There's been plenty of speculation today that Newt Gingrich might be considering backing down from his criticism of Mitt Romney's record at Bain. But as Herman Cain once said, the problem with that analysis is that it is incorrect. (REUTERS/Jason Reed) In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond denied reports that the former House speaker is having second thoughts about his attacks on Romney. "This issue at hand is neither about Bain Capital, private equity firms, nor about capitalism," Hammond said. It is about Mitt Romney's judgment and character. It was Governor Romney's decision to base his candidacy, in large part, on his background as a portfolio manager. Thus, it is entirely legitimate to ask questions about whether he is accurately presenting how he conducted himself during that career. Politico's Jon Allen and Jake Sherman reported Wednesday afternoon that at a campaign stop in Spartanburg, S.C., Gingrich told a supporter that he agreed his attacks on Romney's tenure at the venture capital firm had backfired: I'm here to implore one thing of you. I think you've missed the target on the way you're addressing Romney's weaknesses. I want to beg you to redirect and go after his obvious disingenuousness about his conservatism and lay off the corporatist versus the free market. I think it's nuanced," said Dean Glossop, an Army reservist from Inman, S.C. "I agree with you," Gingrich said. It's an impossible theme to talk about with Obama in the background. Obama just makes it impossible to talk rationally in that area because he is so deeply into class warfare that automatically you get an echo effect. . . . I agree with you entirely. In his statement, Hammond cited reports by the Wall Street Journal and other sources that he said "contradict Governor Romney's claims that it was his goal at Bain Capital to make companies more successful." "Instead of accepting the responsibility to answer questions about his business background, the Romney campaign is throwing up a smokescreen about an attack on capitalism," Hammond said. That's just more pious baloney from Mitt Romney and his campaign. Still, it's worth watching whether - and how hard - Gingrich and others in the GOP field will continue to hit Romney on the issue. A GOP debate coming up on Monday could prove a crucial test. And if a Web ad released by Gingrich's campaign Wednesday afternoon is any indication, the former House speaker's team is going full speed ahead. The two-minute video is a "greatest hits" of sorts, pulling together clips of Romney's campaign-trail gaffes and other snafus. Many of the themes touched on in the video have been used by Democrats - something that could bring Gingrich under further fire from some conservative groups who have expressed concern about a heated primary fight. A pro-Gingrich super PAC has also released online a 28-minute documentary with a critical take on Romney's time at Bain and is planning to run 30- and 60-second ads containing excerpts from the film.