Democrats have been pounding Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney relentlessly for months, issuing web videos, paid ads, and press releases belittling the former Massachusetts governor as a flip-flopping shapeshifter and cold-blooded corporate tycoon. With Romney sinking and Newt Gingrich rising in virtually every recent poll, the Democrats appear to be succeeding at hobbling the general election candidate they unquestionably fear most. The steady drip-drop of the the assaults has gone on for months, starting when Romney was the default front-runner and continuing as he has seen one flawed GOP candidate after another eclipse him briefly in polls before crashing into single digits.