Romney may offer because he wants Paul votes, but Paul won't accept. And even if he did, I wouldn't vote for that ticket. A few will, but not many. Most will probably stay home. Some will vote Libertarian (as will I). Some will probably go Obama.
I don't see any Paul supporters going to Obama. If Romney=Obama, then the mainstream vote is essentially Obama/Biden vs Obama/Paul. I can see the staying home, write-in, and the third party choices, but I really don't see a Paul supporter voting for Obama/Biden.
There is no strategic reason I can imagine that would make Ron want to be VP.
If Ron gets an offer to be the VP slot on the ticket, it means he didn't get the nomination. If he doesn't get the nomination, he can take the message back to Texas and watch the rest of the election from there or continue spreading the message while a VP candidate. I'm not saying he'd take the slot under just anyone, but I'm sure spreading the message would be a consideration. A Paul VP candidate also makes the message mainstream enough to be considered seriously by those who have thought of it as fringe to this point. This is a good setup for future elections.
Ron Paul as an elected VP will mean that
ALL tie-breaking votes in the Senate go the right way. There may not be many of those, but how many tie-breakers in the House does he decide now? It also means that Ron Paul would be one heartbeat away from the oval office for four years. And if Ron Paul ever took the VP offer, I'm sure it was because worthwhile concessions were worked out between he and the nominee.
I'm working to get Ron the GOP nomination. But if that doesn't happen, I'll take a little something over nothing. I admire the principled stand of the NOBP folks. I've taken that stand myself by voting LP at the national level since 1992. But don't mistake cooperation for compromise. If Ron accepts such a position, it's because he believes it will be a significant gain for liberty. I'm pretty jaded with all things political, but I trust Ron Paul and I will stay with him if he goes this route.
There is nothing wrong with having a check-and-balance at VP, but it is suicide in a general election as the Obama rhetoric machine kicks into full gear and the Romney/Paul campaign can't even agree on the messages they're pushing, unless one of them compromised their positions, but that too would only weaken the credibility of the message.
Ron was able to semi-endorse Nader and the other also-rans last time not because he agreed with all of their positions, but because he agreed with them where it mattered. Ron wouldn't take the VP offer unless that were also the case with Romney. If they agree on what they consider to be the core message of the ticket, it will sell.
With regard to Romney/Ron, I see that as trading a congressman for a VP. I'd take that. With regard to Romney/Rand, we're trading a sitting Senator for a VP. I don't think I would vote for that, but never say never.
Ok, time to get back to the current campaign and make the VP question moot. Ron Paul 2012!!!