“‘You have to ask Congressman Paul and Governor Romney what they’ve got going together,’ Santorum told reporters in the spin room in Mesa, Arizona. ‘Their commercials look a lot alike and so do their attacks.’

“Santorum’s top strategist John Brabender went even further, charging that the two men had ‘joined forces’ and were coordinating attacks against his man

“‘Clearly there’s a tag team strategy between Ron Paul and Mitt Romney. For all I know, Mitt Romney might be considering Ron Paul as his running mate. Clearly there is now an alliance between those two and you saw that certainly in the debate.’…

“The Romney campaign ridiculed the notion there was any coordination. ‘If ever there was an iconoclast who got up there and said what he believed, it’s Ron Paul,’ said Stuart Stevens, Romney’s chief strategist.”

“Paul’s spokesman denies this, noting that they have spent millions on four television ads attacking Romney, but there does seem to be something, prima facie, to their conduct during debates, if one assumes that the alliance would preclude Paul from criticizing Romney in debates. In the previous seven debates, going back to the January 7 New Hampshire debate, Ron Paul has only attacked Mitt Romney once…

“Paul’s kid-gloved treatment of Romney in the debates so far doesn’t necessarily say anything about their relationship, but it seems like, of late, Paul has been notably kind to the race’s front-runner.”

“And now, Paul’s national campaign chairman, Jesse Benton, confirms that the decision last week by the two campaigns to skip a March 1 CNN debate in Georgia was a closely-coordinated one.

“Benton, asked on MSNBC Thursday afternoon to detail the specifics on how the two candidates have cooperated during the campaign:

“‘A lot of it just comes down to scheduling. Both of our campaigns, for example, had places, specific places we wanted our candidates to be on March 1st, and they weren’t in Georgia. Other states that were priorities for us. And so we talked it out and we said, ‘Hey, let’s present a united front and make sure our candidates can get where they need to be rather than being at the 22nd or 23rd debate in Georgia.’ That’s how we cooperate.'”

“Senator Rand Paul first discussed his higher aspirations at the beginning of this year. He said he wouldn’t close the door on being a Vice Presidential candidate. After a speech in Louisville today, Paul held that door firmly open, saying he wants to be part of the national debate.

“Paul’s name has swirled as a possible pick that would give Romney points with the Tea Party. When asked directly what he would say if Romney made the offer, Paul tried to punt.

“I don’t know if I can answer that question, but I can say it would be an honor to be considered,’ he said.”

“Of course, this could be much ado about nothing — just a politician answering a question. On the other hand, it is sure to spark more speculation that some sort of deal may be in the works between the Romney and Paul camps. It’s not as if Ron Paul’s campaign hasn’t stoked speculation. As the Dallas Morning News reported, Paul’s national campaign chairman, Jesse Benton, recently said: ‘Any Republican should have Rand Paul on his short list.’

“On the surface, tapping Paul as veep might not make sense. But conservatives are refusing to go along and eat the dog food with Romney — and adding Rand Paul to the ticket would fire conservatives up – and ensure that Ron Paul drops any plans to launch a 3rd party challenge. And just imagine if Romney arrives at the GOP convention needing some of Paul’s delegates to win the nomination?

“It’s not an absurd idea.”

Via the Daily Rushbo.

Ingraham: Hey, Governor, when you watched this last night, did you take away this impression that some are taking away — and I think I stated this a couple days ago on the show — that your Texas compatriot there, Ron Paul, seems to be, you know, guarding the flank for Romney. He seemed to go in at various junctures and either amplify Romney’s points or try to take Santorum out at the knees on issues that clearly benefit the would-be frontrunner Mitt Romney. Do you get the sense that there’s an unspoken alliance there?

Perry: You know, I don’t know whether there is an alliance there or not, but that’s been the case all through the debates, all 20 of them I might add. That Ron Paul and Mitt Romney had a really interesting partnership, let us call it.