PENSACOLA, Fla. — Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, who surged past opponent Newt Gingrich after suddenly strong debate performances, traveled to the Florida panhandle for the first time Saturday to rally a key constituency in the Sunshine State — military families.
Romney greeted hundreds of voters at a campaign event billed as a rally for military veterans, flanked by two key GOP endorsers –Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a southern conservative, and Sen. John McCain, a former prisoner of war.
Romney told the crowd the debates “are getting more and more fun as time goes on,” a reference to a pair of appearances last week in which Romney demonstrated to supporters a previously unseen passion in attacking Gingrich and in advocating for his own agenda.
Many have credited Romney’s new aggressiveness to Brett O’Donnell, who coached former candidate Michele Bachmann in debates and who is now coaching Romney. And the results are helping sway undecided voters.
“He really just showed how strong a person he can be,” said Lt. Sam Wood from the nearby Naval Air Station who now plans to vote for Romney.
Romney used the Pensacola rally to denounce President Obama’s plans to significantly pare the U.S. military, including a reduction of 100,000 troops.
“I would add 100,000 active duty military personnel,” said Romney, who also pledged to increase shipbuilding and upgrade aviation.
Romney said he would pay for it by cutting what he called wasteful military spending and reallocating the savings.
Bulking up the military would stave off potential threats from countries like North Korea and China, Romney said, labeling Obama’s planned cuts “a doomsday scenario” for the military.
McCain, the 2008 GOP presidential nominee and a former Navy pilot once stationed here, and McDonnell both hailed Romney as the best candidate to take on Obama and the most qualified to lead the nation out of its economic woes.
McDonnell praised Romney as “compassionate and full of faith,” and took a subtle swipe at Gingrich. “Values matter,” the Virginia governor said. “Character does count.”
McCain, who won the 2008 Florida primary, said Gingrich is acting out of desperation when he attacks Romney’s time as the head of Bain Capital, a venture capital firm.
“I do not understand why anyone would attack a person who is successful in the free enterprise system,” McCain told the crowd.
Gingrich doesn’t mention Bain as much anymore after Republicans likened his criticisms to an attack on free enterprise and now portrays Romney as untrustworthy.
Romney has easily outspent Gingrich on advertising here. His campaign on Sunday released a new ad comprised entirely of a 1997 clip of NBC anchorman Tom Brokaw reporting on Gingrich’s ethics violations as speaker. NBC has protested the use of the footage, but the ad did hit home for some voters.
“I would fear that Obama would have more ammunition to use on Gingrich,” Cynthia Hudson, a Romney supporter from Navarre, told The Washington Examiner after watching the ad. “Romney has more of a chance of beating Obama and that is what I, as a voter, was looking for.”
Later in the day, Romney traveled down the Gulf Coast to Panama City, where he held a rally at a shipyard.
