WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney made a return appearance on the "Late Show with David Letterman" on Monday night to present the program's popular "Top Ten" list.

The No. 2 item on "Top Ten Things Mitt Romney Would Like to Say to the American People" -- "Newt Gingrich? Really?."

The entry on the list tailor-made for the former Massachusetts governor pokes fun at the former House Speaker, currently Romney's toughest rival in the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

In a New York Times interview earlier this month, Romney suggested that Gingrich's policy ideas made him too "zany" to be president of the United States.

"Zany is not what we need in a president," Romney said. "Zany is great in a campaign. It's great on talk radio. It's great in print, it makes for fun reading, but in terms of a president, we need a leader, and a leader needs to be someone who can bring Americans together."

Monday night's performance marked the second time Romney has appeared in the Top Ten segment of Letterman's late night television show. On February 1, he presented the "Top Ten Things You Don't Know About Mitt Romney."

(Reporting By JoAnne Allen; editing by Todd Eastham)