NYT plumps up a few quotes from Ron Paul into a story about 2 unlikely best friends.

Ron Paul and Mitt Romney. They set out on a journey across America — on a quest to win the hearts of a hundred million American voters — and what they found.... was a quirky... wacky... friendship!!! that would last a lifetime.

Let's look at the actual quotes Richard A. Oppel Jr. strews before us:

“I talk to Romney more than the rest on a friendly basis,” Mr. Paul said. ”I throw Romney’s name out because he’s made a bigger attempt to do it. The others are sort of just real flat.”

So Gingrich and Santorum are real flat... and Romney's a personable guy, one on one.

The candidates’ spouses, Ann Romney and Carol Paul, “know each other better than any of the other wives,” Mr. Paul said. He and Mr. Romney talk “all the time” and “we’ve met all their kids.” Once he telephoned Mr. Romney just as Mr. Romney was calling him. “Sometimes I’m never sure who issued a call,” he said.

They just gossip on the phone for hours and hours! But seriously, there's something important here. Ron Paul is methodically gathering delegates, and he's got his people doing the kind of hard behind-the-scenes work with the caucuses and state-level conventions that made the difference in 2008 between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

... Mr. Paul has slowly been collecting delegates, and is now threatening Mr. Gingrich for third place on that front. And his supporters plan to pack state party conventions to grab more delegates in states like Iowa, Maine and Minnesota, which will probably give Mr. Paul more leverage as the nominating battle progresses.

Implicit in the article is the suggestion that Ron Paul will have something important to give, and if Gingrich/Santorum hold on long enough to keep the convention open, Paul will be the kingmaker, and the king will be Romney.