Gingrich: Arrest Judges who Defy President

The tough line against judges may please conservatives who rail against an "activist" judiciary over issues such as allowing gay marriage rights or limiting prayer in schools. But it could also work against Gingrich since voters already are angry over constant battling in Washington between the White House and Congress.

"That's not going to sit well in a seven-second soundbite," said Republican strategist Ford O'Connell. "When people hear that, that becomes divisive. And what are people most concerned about now? Divisiveness in Washington."

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Gingrich reached the top of the Republican field last month as the favored conservative alternative to former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. But his front-runner status has prompted withering attacks from rivals that he is an unreliable conservative and influence peddler, particularly over fat fees he earned from Freddie Mac, a mortgage giant tied to the economic recession.

Gingrich acknowledged in a call with supporters and journalists that the onslaught is taking a toll. "I feel badly about having to have this kind of a phone call just to dispel negative things. As all of you know, I've tried very hard to campaign on a positive basis," he said.

Gingrich was attacked in the Wall Street Journal's editorial page, a leading voice in U.S. conservatism, on Saturday over the $1.6 million in payments he received from mortgage giant Freddie Mac. "To wit, he has a soft spot for big government when he can use it for his own political ends," the newspaper said.

Only weeks before the first voting for the 2012 Republican presidential nominee - Iowa's caucuses on Jan. 3 and New Hampshire's primary on Jan. 10 - Gingrich's poll numbers have been slipping.

END OF THE SURGE?

Polls still put him in first place in the race to oppose Democratic President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election bid. But his lead over Romney and Texas Congressman Ron Paul has narrowed.

Gingrich has dropped to 28 percent from 37 percent in Gallup's national tracking poll since the beginning of December. In Iowa, a state many analysts consider an essential win for Gingrich, a range of polls show him slipping from about 32 percent to about 24 percent, still in first place but only just in front of Romney and Paul.

"This is a candidate with a lot of baggage and some of the baggage has been chased out by the media and his opponents, and that is having an impact," said Christopher Arterton, a political scientist at George Washington University.

Romney, who lives in neighboring Massachusetts and has a large vacation home in New Hampshire, has an 11 point lead in the state, according to polls compiled by RealClearPolitics.com.