Gingrich's New Ad Attacks 'Timid' Romney

Following a disappointing fourth place finish in Tuesday's Iowa caucuses, Newt Gingrich made good on his promise to go after Mitt Romney, releasing a new ad Thursday going after Romney by name.

(Related: Rush Limbaugh: ‘Newt’s in This to Destroy Romney Now’)

The ad seeks to paint Romney's economic plan as "timid" and "virtually identical to Obama’s failed policy," using critical quotes from Forbes and the Wall Street Journal. Gingrich's plan, meanwhile, is "a powerful plan for growing our economy and creating new jobs."

The Gingrich campaign said the spot would begin running Thursday in New Hampshire and South Carolina. As the New York Times noted, it's the first time Gingrich has mentioned Romney by name in an ad. Though not a "slashing attack," its "goes further than any previous effort" by the former House Speaker, who blasted Romney in recent weeks for a slew of negative ads from a super PAC run by Romney supporters.

But after Tuesday's caucus results, Gingrich vowed to go on the offensive and hit Romney hard with "the truth."

“We are not going to go out and run nasty ads, but I do reserve the right to tell the truth,” Gingrich said. "If the truth seems negative, that may be more a comment on his [Romney’s] record than the nature of politics."