A few weeks ago I said I wasn’t sure I could get comfortable with the idea of supporting Newt Gingrich. I laid out my case then and there is no reason to go back into it now.

I still find it incredibly hard to believe that the two guys at the top — excluding the 9/11 truther nut — both support the individual mandate.

I continue to hope Perry surprises in Iowa and Huntsman surprises in New Hampshire. At least then we’d have a pretty awesome race with two governors with conservative records we can all be proud of.

But as between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, I have to take this one moment away from my first vacation from RedState in four years (I have 4,335 emails I have not looked at that have come in since Christmas morning) and my cigar and rocking chair to say I am comfortable with Newt Gingrich now if I must choose between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.

Put simply — as Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney moved the state left, socializing its healthcare system and doing nothing to stop gay marriage until he knew it was too late to do anything about it.

As Speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich moved the nation right with a balanced budget and welfare reform.

Maybe the poll trends in Iowa are real and Rick Perry is going to surprise people with a respectable finish. But if not, I’m not as bothered as I once was.

I could and would go with Gingrich over Romney. But I’m still kind of hoping I won’t have to.