As the Romney-Gingrich fight intensifies (see Bob Tyrrell’s story over here), a video is surfacing of Nancy Reagan talking about Newt at the Goldwater Institute in 1995.

While my own column from Tuesday is referenced, the newsy part here is the video of Mrs. Reagan followed by one featuring Mitt Romney in his now infamous Reagan-denying debate with Ted Kennedy the year before Mrs. Reagan’s talk — 1994.

Said Nancy:

“The dramatic movement of 1995 is an outgrowth of a much earlier crusade that goes back half a century. Barry Goldwater handed the torch to Ronnie, and in turn Ronnie turned that torch over to Newt and the Republican members of Congress to keep that dream alive.”

What was it that the late NBC journalist Tim Russert said on election night in 2000 as he held up his little white board?

“Florida, Florida, Florida.”

As the saying goes, the more things change the more they stay the same.