Great minds ...

We're in nearly the same place regarding this field.

As it stands I would vote Santorum. Romney seems to be unstoppable, but that's not a demonstrable concern for as you pointed out, even then, "anything" is preferable to the ideology currently residing in the White House. I am encouraged in recent days with Romney's tone - drawing contrasts over the ideological battle, individual liberty versus state mandated collectivism. I would find it a terrible waste for the GOP to miss this historic opportunity to defeat the idea of collectivism (at least for a generation) in favor of only defeating a single candidate in Obama. Not to mention, if you do the former, the latter will take care of itself.

I hear that Senator Rubio, the young Cuban Tea Party favorite whom beat the then incumbent governor of Florida, is the odds on favorite for the VP spot. It makes sense - a trusted conservative, Hispanic, won state wide office in probably the most crucial/contested electoral rich state in the union. Its incredible how fast a figure can rise in this new media access ready age. Rubio was a state senator 2 years ago, and now Vice Presdient of the United States may be a reality within 3 (much like the current PoTUS). However, were Romney to win I wouldn't be surprised were he to pull a reverse Reagan move - unify the conservatives with Santorum as your pick.

And I just want to add... I was of course a proponent of Gingrich during the Clinton years. However, the contract with America was the beginning and end of what I knew of him. Since that time I have done some research and I find him utterly objectionable. Quotes that I've heard come from his own lips are disturbing in the extreme. Describing himself as a "Wilsonian realpolitik." This is a man whom claims to be a conservative? Forget Wilsonian for a moment, the latter phrase is in essence the politics of getting things done, period, despite obstacles such as the Constitution. And being a history professor he knows the meaning behind these phrases better than most. Add to this his "Green Movement" campaign which had him on a couch doing commercials with Nancy Pelosi, and his recent attack on Romney's venture capitalism years (which he vowed on live TV last month to not do), and you quickly see why I just do not trust this man to now be the champion of individual liberty. Oh, and I should note his favorite 20th Century president, as described by him: FDR. Yeah, that about cinches for me.