Former Senator Rick Santorum apparently is not getting vetted as a candidate to be Mitt Romney's running mate, but he won't rule the possibility out.
"No one's asked me for anything right now," the former GOP presidential candidate said on ABC's This Week on Sunday when asked whether he had been vetted by Romney's staff. He added, however, that if Romney calls, "I'll answer the phone call."
"I wish Governor Romney the best and I'll do whatever I can to be helpful to him," Santorum said.
It is unlikely that Santorum will receive such a call, with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan and Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, among others, topping most speculative lists. Santorum also added that he's "not anxious to get back in the fray right now," and is focusing instead on the conservative group he recently launched, Patriot Voices.
"We're focused on trying to do what we can to help Governor Romney, help candidates all across this country, by rallying conservatives," he said.
But Santorum's effort is not all focused on getting Romney elected. He also said that he'd like to see "strong, principled conservatives" take a stand at the Republican National Convention this summer against a potential fight from Texas Rep. Ron Paul's supporters over the GOP platform. Paul has suspended active campaigning, but remains a force in the conservative movement, and many worry his ardent fan base could sway the party platform in favor of his libertarian-leaning views.
"I like the platform that we have right now. I am concerned that Ron Paul and some of his supporters out there are looking for a platform fight. And I want to make sure that we have strong, principled conservatives there, who stood with me in our primary fight, to go there and counterbalance the effect of the Paul folks," Santorum said.
The Paul campaign fought back against Santorum's assertion that Paul would launch a platform fight, with Jesse Benton, the campaign's top strategist, suggesting Santorum would be more comfortable a the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. if he doesn't agree with Paul's limited-government views.
"Dr. Paul and his supporters plan to join with other Republicans and help carry a message of personal liberty, sound money, free markets and a pro-American foreign policy to the Republican Convention. If Mr. Santorum opposes these core American principles and supports bigger government, perhaps he would fit better in Charlotte with Barack Obama and the Democrats," said Benton in an email.
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