Jon Huntsman is finally attracting big crowds and taking the fight to Mitt Romney.

I just interviewed him after a raucous campaign stop in Concord, N.H.  He told me Romney's "I like to fire people" comment shows he is "completely out of touch" with what's going on the country.  "I don't like to fire people, I like to create jobs," Huntsman said.

He has never been so harshly critical of Romney.  A top Huntsman aide added: Romney "will rue the day he said that."

The Huntsman crowds are bigger and more enthusiastic than ever and he obviously feels a momentum change. "We need to prove we can move the market here," Huntsman said.

They are hoping for a second place finish and counting on at least third place.

He also told me that he takes Romney's attack on his service as ambassador to China personally. He genuinely seems upset about.

He laughed when asked about speaking Chinese in our debate. "At least I made a little history" as the first GOP candidate ever to speak Chinese in a debate, he said.

Watch more of my interview with Huntsman tonight on World News.