Corker’s not splashy enough, and Trump judges the value of his actions almost entirely on splash factor. Hoo-boy, would Gingrich be splashy. Think of both the short-term splash—oh my God, he literally picked Newt Gingrich to be his running mate—and the selection’s long tail. Reporters would find little time to cover much else (like, say, the Clinton campaign) between reports of what nonsense both Trump and Gingrich are spouting on a minute-by-minute basis. Trump, unsatisfied with his ability to consume a modest 90 percent of media oxygen over the past year, may find it impossible not to select Gingrich if this assures his campaign the full 100 percent.

Gingrich would check certain conventional boxes, too. Even if his demeanor is unsuited for executive power, he is a bright guy who’s familiar with both public policy and the how Washington works. He’s experienced, even if in acquiring that experience he came to turn off many of his colleagues (and lose his job) because of his erratic leadership style and, eventually, ethical violations.

But the most underweighted concern from outside handicappers when trying to calculate the effectiveness of a ticket is the unquantifiable: the relationship between the candidate and his vice presidential nomination and how comfortable they are working together. Mitt Romney in 2012 selected Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate despite Ryan’s policy baggage because the two just got along well; one of the reasons Hillary Clinton might not select Sen. Elizabeth Warren for her ticket is their own alleged coolness to each other. In terms of chemistry, Trump and Gingrich might have something that no other pairing would, since few others have done to politics what they each have, in their own times.