Grassley likes Romney’s newfound ‘passion’

Mitt Romney is stepping up his game, and Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley thinks it's about time.

Grassley, who didn't endorse the former Massachusetts governor until after Iowa's first-in-the-nation precinct caucuses, said Wednesday he take Romney's combative response to President Obama as a good sign.

“He's kind of letting people know he's got some strong beliefs, he has fire in the belly,” Grassley told reporters. “He's got to continue that and do it more so.”

Referring to a speech Romney delivered to the VFW earlier this week in which he slammed the president for planned defense cuts and leaks of classified information, Grassley said it “sounded to me like a pretty good speech that ought to show that this guy knows what a commander-in-chief ought to be doing.”

While that's important, Grassley think the campaign will hinge on “what he's going to do to get the economy turned around and jobs created.”

Romney had “absolutely not” been showing the sort of “passion” Grassley believes is needed. The Romney campaign's strategy might be for the candidate to come on strong at the tail end of the campaign, he speculated.

“He needs to start that right now, and I think he has,” Grassley said.