The former Republican leader said Wednesday that the GOP's woes are not because of how former Republican presidential nominee John McCain's campaign was run, Politico reported Thursday.

"The Republican Party right now is like a midsize college team trying to play in the Super Bowl," Gingrich said. "It is pretty hard to say our losses were because of John McCain's campaign."

He said McCain "performed way above plausibility compared to where the Republican president was in the polls." He added, "We have to look honestly at what went wrong."

Gingrich said his main concern was the rise of what he called the "modern left." He said liberals' fundraising capacity during the 2008 presidential race dwarfed with Republicans were able to do.

"The modern left has gotten that large," Gingrich said.

He added that the best thing the GOP could do is stop worrying about its future.

"We need to worry about the nation," Gingrich said. "Wal-Mart doesn't get ahead by attacking Sears but by offering better value."