Candidates Work South Carolina [VIDEO]

Some of Mitt Romney’s Republican rivals appear to be backing away from their attacks on his tenure as the head of a venture capital firm.

Rick Perry, who had been calling Romney a “vulture capitalist,” wasn’t mentioning that attack line by late yesterday. Perry has already lost the support of a key South Carolina backer who objected to those attacks on Romney.

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And Newt Gingrich tells Fox News that Romney’s business record won’t be “the centerpiece” of Gingrich’s campaign in South Carolina. But Gingrich adds that Romney’s record as head of the equity firm Bain Capital is “an important question,” because Romney has said he has the necessary business experience to restore the economy.

Romney has charged that his Republican foes who are questioning whether he ignored job losses in the quest for profits at Bain Capital are sounding like Democrats, and are putting “free enterprise on trial.”

And the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is backing him up on that — saying it’s foolish for Republicans to attack Romney over his business background. Thomas Donahue says he’s disappointed in Gingrich and Perry for doing so.

South Carolina TV already awash in GOP attack ads

GOP presidential candidates and their deep-pocketed allies are teeing up millions of dollars in ads, many in attack fashion, ahead of the pivotal South Carolina primary.

Newt Gingrich is hitting Mitt Romney over abortion. A group backing Romney is ridiculing Gingrich’s judgment by showing footage of him with Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi. And Ron Paul is tagging Rick Santorum as a “serial hypocrite” with “a record of betrayal.”

In a state known for brutal campaign tactics, the savaging has only just begun.

Romney’s wins in the first two contests set up a now-or-never situation for opponents desperate to deny him the presidential nomination. South Carolina voters weigh in on Jan. 21.

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