Mitt Romney/Rick Santorum ticket? No chance

Related: The 2012 Veepstakes: 20 possible VP picks for Mitt Romney

Rick Santorum exited the race for the Republican presidential nomination almost a week after the Washington Post actually blogged about news that an Ireland-based betting website has set odds and starting taking bets about who will be the vice presidential candidate on the GOP ticket.

Santorum wasn't on that list, but this morning, now that Mitt Romney is the presumptive nominee, Santorum was listed on InTrade with a 2.4 percent chance that Romney will pick him as his running mate. InTrade allows people to buy and sell shares on the outcome of real-world events.

Sixteen days ago, Santorum said "of course" he would consider being the vice presidential candidate on a Romney/Santorum ticket.

But would Romney tap someone who has repeatedly called him "uniquely disqualified" to run against President Obama and who didn't mention him at all in the 13-minute speech he gave Tuesday when he announced he was dropping out of the race?

No.

There’s no chance Romney will pick Santorum as a running mate, Franklin & Marshall College Poll Director G. Terry Madonna told the Lehigh Valley Express Times.

"'If Santorum were the running mate,' Madonna said, Democrats until November 'would just run clips of Santorum criticizing Romney.' Madonna said it’s more likely Santorum will get a book or TV deal and become “the next Sarah Palin,' a conservative voice who influences elections but doesn’t run."

Emily Heil wrote for the Washington Post, "Now that the suspense of the GOP nominating race is over (prediction: the eventual winner rhymes with 'schromney'), we’re desperately in need of more political intrigue. Which brings us to Veepstakes, the new parlor game in which we speculate on who will be Mitt Romney’s vice-presidential pick."

The Deseret News strongly discourages all forms of gambling, but as a gauge of where public perception presently rests on the issue of vice presidential possibilities, here are the opening odds the Post reported in its blog post.

Favorite

Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida: 11 to 4 (i.e., bet 4 to win 11)

If you're wondering why the Cuban-American Rubio is the prohibitive favorite, consider as anecdotal evidence what Byron Tau wrote Wednesday for Politico in reporting about recent President Obama-versus-Romney polling in Nevada: "Among the key Hispanic bloc (of Nevada voters), Obama leads Romney 69 percent to 30 percent — and has a 65 percent approval rating. … The Hispanic voter is a major factor in several states including Nevada, and was competitive between the two parties as of a few cycles ago. Democrats expect that Republican rhetoric on immigration reform, citizenship and opposition to the DREAM Act may have alienated Hispanics from the Republican Party."

Others

Gov. Chris Christie, New Jersey: 5 to 1

Gov. Bob McDonnell, Virginia: 6 to 1

Gov. Susana Martinez, New Mexico: 9 to 1

Rep. Paul Ryan, Wisconsin: 9 to 1

Sen. Rob Portman, Ohio: 10 to 1

Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky: 10 to 1

Related: The 2012 Veepstakes: 20 possible VP picks for Mitt Romney