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Gingrich: "Inconceivable" Romney would pick me as VP
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play Gitmo closing: Time for rhetoric has passed, says Amnesty leader -
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play White House not living up to promises of transparency, Chaffetz ...
(CBS News) Just days after Newt Gingrich exited the Republican primary contest, the former House speaker laughed off the possibility that he would be Romney's running mate, calling the notion "inconceivable."
"Would you pick me?" Gingrich asked host Bob Schieffer. "I am so much my own agent, it would be - it's inconceivable."
On "Face the Nation," Gingrich, who spent the past few months attacking Mitt Romney during the Republican primary process, said he is behind Romney because it's about choices.
"I think you have to come down to what's the choice this November, and the choice is the most radical president in American history and... somebody who has a solid record on jobs," Gingrich said. "The fact is, compared to Barack Obama, Mitt Romney is a solid conservative."
Gingrich said it is "strange" that people think he has not yet endorsed the presumptive Republican nominee.
"I'm going to campaign for him.... I'll do everything I can to help elect Romney," Gingrich said. "I'm not sure what 'endorsement' means beyond that."
After Schieffer pressed him, Gingrich said, "As far as I'm concerned, I have endorsed him."
The former candidate also chided President Obama the day after he launched his reelection campaign with the slogan "Forward." Gingrich said the president's slogan should be "downward."
"They should be using 'downward' because that's been the trend for the economy, for take-home pay, for people being able to afford gasoline. In every case it has been downward for President Obama," the former House Speaker said on Sunday.
Friday's latest jobless claims showed the economy added 115,000 jobs last month. However, Republicans say the unemployment rate dropped to 8.1 percent because discouraged people stopped looking for work.
"In the end, can you really afford four more years of a failed presidency?" Gingrich said. "The question that ought to be asked of him over and over again is how many jobs did you create yesterday? What did you do to help Americans keep their homes? What have you done to bring down the price of gasoline?"
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Leigh Ann Caldwell Leigh Ann Caldwell is a political reporter for CBSNews.com.
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