By Siobhan Hughes and Patrick O’Connor

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) once led the charge to oust former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. He’s singing a different tune these days, as the former speaker leads the field of Republican White House hopefuls.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) talks to the press Nov. 29, 2011 at the Capitol. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Mr. Graham told a scrum of reporters in the Capitol on Tuesday that there was a good side and a bad side to Mr. Gingrich’s four-year stint as House speaker.

On the one hand, Mr. Gingrich was “transformative” by working with Democrats to balance the budget, reform welfare and realize many of the legislative overhauls outlined in the Contract with America. On the other, “there was the Newt that got us all frustrated and upset,” he said. “That’s the guy that was erratic.”

“If you could bring out the best of Newt Gingrich and encapsulate that, you could have a transformative president,” Mr. Graham said. “He seems to be more settled now.”

It may help that Mr. Gingrich called his former critic last week to smooth over any lingering ill will…