Newt Gingrich calls Bachmann "factually challenged"

It’s a tale as old as time. Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich is all of a sudden one of the popular guys, and with more supporters coming his way, the other candidates have made him their target.

All fine and good except he’s promised a clean cut campaign. Something that’s proven to be a little more difficult once he’s had a bulls eye placed on his back.

In a report by the Examiner, Gingrich, the new Republican front-runner, spoke before a breakfast town hall in Greenville and suggested fellow GOP candidate Michele Bachmann is “factually challenged.”

Gasp! How dare he?!

It all went down during a brief exchange with reporters when Gingrich was asked about Bachmann’s criticism of his statement that he would allow illegal immigrants who have been in the United States for 25 years to remain in the country, saying that his position amounted to amnesty.

And, that’s when he broke.

“Some people are just factually challenged,” Gingrich responded.  “It’s unfortunate.  When I was a teacher I occasionally had a student who couldn’t figure out where things were or what things were or what the right date was. When that happens, you feel sorry that they are so factually challenged.”

“What I will say,” Gingrich continued, “is that the voters will be pretty good over time in distinguishing between people who know facts and people who don’t know facts…people who are focused on positive, large solutions, not people who are trying to pick fights.”

Just last night in an interview, Gingrich vowed to “keep being positive,” but his words about Bachmann just a few hours later suggest that might be harder than he thought.