Very magnanimous of the former Speaker, especially given Mitt Romney’s recent stepped-up attacks against him:

But why did he take the bait at all? He could just as easily have remained indifferent, have answered with a simple, “I’d have to give it thought.” He won’t win over Romney supporters — and he significantly owes his own surge to the appetite for an anti-Romney. To praise Romney as “competent” and “serious” might be true as far as it goes — but it also reminds voters that, in some ways, Romney and Gingrich are very much alike. They’re both ambitious, intelligent and susceptible to switching positions.

Too much to take away from a polite reply to a polite question? Maybe. But, while Newt has done well with his magnanimous shtick and while I wholeheartedly wish all the candidates would refrain from tearing each other down, he needn’t sing the praises of his rivals, either. Plus, I’m just really not sure what Romney would add to Gingrich’s ticket, except more ammunition for accusations of inconstancy from the DNC. At this point, that works the other way around, too: Given how deeply Gingrich’s conservative credentials have been called into question under the new scrutiny of his frontrunner status, I’m not sure he’d add much conservative reassurance to a Romney ticket, either.