Ron Paul's new ad: Is he attacking his 'wingman'? (+video)

The Ron Paul campaign released a new ad Wednesday, and it’s getting some buzz because it appears to attack Mitt Romney. Before this, Mr. Paul and Mr. Romney seemed to get along pretty well – Rick Santorum at one point last week called the white-haired Texas libertarian Romney’s “wingman.”

That would make Romney Paul’s wingman, too, in air-power parlance. A “wingman” is somebody who helps out a fellow pilot in combat.

Over at the liberal-leaning Think Progress blog, Judd Legum has rooted through debate transcripts and pronounced that in 20 debates, Paul has not attacked Romney once. But Paul has jabbed at his other rivals at least 39 times, according to Mr. Legum.

“Paul is effectively acting as Romney’s on-stage surrogate during the debates. The key question is: what is Paul getting out of it?” Legum writes.

Some commentators have speculated that Paul is aiming for a good speaking slot at the Republican National Convention if Romney wins. Others suggest he might want his son, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, as VP on the ticket. In any case, that’s the context in which the new ad is set.

The spot is called “Three of a Kind,” and it goes after all the remaining non-Paul GOP candidates. It starts off with Newt Gingrich, calling him a “serial hypocrite” and Washington insider who lobbied for Freddie Mac before the housing crisis. Then it hits Mr. Santorum as a “counterfeit conservative” who has voted to increase US spending and fund Planned Parenthood. Lastly, it gets around to Romney, saying he’s a “flip-flopper” whose Massachusetts health plan provided the blueprint for "Obamacare."

“Three men – one vision. More big government. More mandates. Less freedom,” says the ad’s apocalyptic-sounding narrator.

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