In a 12-minute press conference after a town hall meeting about education, former Speaker Newt Gingrich reconfirmed that he would spend the bulk of his time in New Hampshire asking voters for their support and contrasting his record with that of presumed front-runner, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. He labeled Romney a “Massachusetts moderate” who was out of touch with conservative principles.

Gingrich insinuated that while governor in Massachusetts, Romney appeased liberal organizations like Planned Parenthood by including them in the so-called “Romneycare” insurance plan that included taxpayer-funded abortions. He claimed Romney named political liberals to courts and made deals with Democrats instead of taking them on.

“If you want to truly change Washington, D.C., somebody who failed totally to change Boston might not be the right person,” he said.

Gingrich also criticized Romney’s strategy of allowing the conservative candidates to split their votes while hanging onto his 25 percent. As the field winnows though, Gingrich said Romney would have a hard time holding on and winning the nomination.

He also praised U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann and said she was more than qualified for a cabinet post but would not speculate on whether she should be considered for a vice presidential slot. Gingrich speculated that Bachmann’s vote would be split between himself and near-Iowa winner, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, but not Romney.

“[Romney] doesn’t fit culturally, he doesn’t fit ideology (with Bachmann voters),” he said. After being asked why he wasn’t attacking Romney in front of voters, Gingrich said he was “taken” by being in a room with students who were not interested in “the carnage” of the press covering political and presidential campaigns.

“I actually thought it was nice to talk about history, culture, and education,” he said.