In what is both a solid attack and an appeal to the better minds of voters, Romney threw a nice punch in a recent speech in Iowa. Washington Post national reporter Philip Rucker has the quote:

Romney in Iowa: “President Obama, bless his heart, has tried to substitute government for free people, and it has not worked.”

The phrase drew some immediate reactions from both the left and the right. Within 30 minutes, the world of social media was set atwitter:

@daveweigel RE: Stump speeches — I haven’t heard Romney say this before: https://twitter.com/philiprucker/status/238333621264596993 …

@jedlewison @daveweigel I sure hope “free people” send out those Social Security checks on time.

Since then, Romney’s phrase has been reported on by ABC News, gleefully recounted at American Thinker, and added to Real Clear Politics’ list of political videos. For me, a conservative who is wary of Romney — he’d make a much better president than Obama, but will he actually do much good with regards to our debt problems? — it is good to see that the awkward Romney in the primaries has been replaced by the speech-savvy, stick-and-move Romney so many conservatives wanted to see. Between this attack, his pick of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) as VP, and his well-played whiteboard comparison of his and Obama’s Medicare plans, it appears conservative fears that Romney would be too nice for the general election may have been overblown. Here’s hoping he throws some good policy proposals on top of his thus-far solid general election campaigning.

Note: The American Thinker piece claims that “bless his heart” is a devastating insult in the South. As a New Hampshire native, it struck me as a kind word to Obama’s well-intentioned, if woefully inadequate, efforts to get our economy back on track. Can any Southerners help me out with this?