Gingrich Backtracks on Bain Criticism

Newt Gingrich on Wednesday walked back his criticism of Mitt Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital, saying that it is "an impossible theme to talk about with Obama in the background."

Politico was on the ground in South Carolina to catch the comments, which came in response to a question from a Santorum supporter who urged Gingrich to redirect his Romney criticism “and go after his obvious disingenuous[ness] about his conservatism.”

Newt's response: "I agree with you," he 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."

Of course, if Gingrich really is going to drop his bid to paint the current GOP front-runner as a corporate looter who made a profit by firing people, that could put him in an odd spot, particularly because a pro-Gingrich Super Pac is spending more than $3 million on airtime for a 27-minute long documentary telling the story of people who lost their jobs after companies Bain had invested in shut their doors.

Politico’s Jonathan Allen and Jake Sherman have more here.