Weigel

I'll have a longer, more profound take on Newt Gingrich's campaign close-out in a bit. But first, to clear up any misconceptions: Gingrich's faint praise of Mitt Romney today was not an official endorsement. Reporters asked.

"Was that an endorsement?" shouted New York Times reporter Michael Shear as Hammond tried to leave.

"Of what?" said Hammond.

More shouts, and then Hammond again: "It's coming. Talk to the campaign. You guys got 617 numbers you can call?" (This was a reference to the Boston area, where Romney's team put together its plan to defeat everybody else.) "Stay tuned."