Mitt Romney met privately with a group of conservative activists and opinion leaders Thursday, on the eve of his speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. In a wide-ranging discussion, a number of participants urged Romney to refrain from attacking rival Rick Santorum with the scorched-earth intensity that he directed at Newt Gingrich.

Romney told the group he had thought Gingrich’s surge would be the last challenge in the primary campaign, only to see Santorum surge with victories in Minnesota, Colorado, and Missouri last Tuesday.  Now, with Santorum the man of the moment, Romney joked that it is time to get the oppo research up and running again.  He quickly added: No, no, I’m only kidding.