Peeking out from an abyss somewhere, Newt Gingrich tells the Huffington Post he — and even Rick Perry (!) — would have done better than Mitt Romney as the Republican presidential nominee:

“I think either [Texas Gov. Rick] Perry or I would have probably done better [against Obama],” said the former speaker, exhibiting a bit of his trademark braggadocio. …

“[I]f Obama had pounded on my weaknesses as intensely as Romney, who knows what would have happened. So I don’t want to be arrogant and say I would have done better,” said Gingrich. “I would say my impression is that, from the Obama team’s standpoint, the two candidates they found the hardest to cope with were Perry and me.”

One thing was indisputable, he added: The Obama campaign was “begging for Romney,” growing more and more confident of their chances against the former Massachusetts governor as the Republican primary progressed.

Well, that’s easier said than done. And since there’s no way to actually do it, given that the election is over and Obama won’t be running for anything again, it’s really just easily said.