Perry video batters Romney with healthcare

In his latest campaign video, Texas Governor Rick Perry takes direct aim at Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney over healthcare.

The video casts the former Massachusetts governor as a mirror image of President Barack Obama when it comes to the federal healthcare overhaul, which conservatives deride as “Obamacare.”

Obamacare morphs into “Romneycare” in the video, which links the Republican frontrunner to the Democratic president’s plan.

Romney has been a target of frequent criticism for backing the Massachusetts plan, which conservatives see as a precursor to Obama’s healthcare measure.

The Perry video suggests Romney is a “co-author” of the Obama plan. It suggests Romney is not a “true conservative” and accuses him of flip-flopping on “so many issues.”

It also uses Romney’s own words against him like a battering ram (“I like mandates.” … “I didn’t change my mind, I’m running for a different office.” … “There’s a lot of reasons not to elect me.”)

In New Hampshire, Romney fired back accusing Perry of distorting his words, ABC reported.

“You’re going to find in a campaign like this that people who are running against me are going to take what I’ve said and try to turn it to say something else. There’s a little ad out there today that does that,” Romney said at a campaign event.

A new Gallup poll shows Romney in the lead among the 2012 Republican presidential hopefuls with 20 percent support. Businessman Herman Cain is a close second with 18 percent. Meantime, Perry has fallen to 15 percent, down from 31 percent in mid-September.