Neither man mentioned Santorum’s record or earmarks, the federal funding of a lawmaker’s pet project, though both said they thought Romney was the best candidate.
Romney’s campaign organized the call as Santorum campaigned in Oklahoma after he won Missouri’s non-binding primary and caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado.
A Romney campaign spokeswoman did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the conference call.
Oklahoma holds a primary on March 6, Super Tuesday, when 10 nomination contests are held.
BLOOMBERG NEWS
Judge criticized by GOP delivers a stinging reply
SAN ANTONIO - A federal judge who was vilified by Republican presidential hopefuls for banning prayer at a Texas high school graduation delivered a scathing and unusually personal response yesterday, saying those who used the case to further political goals “should be ashamed.’’
In a court filing laying out the settlement terms of the prayer case, US District Judge Fred Biery wrote that he forgave Christians who “venomously and vomitously’’ threatened his assassination. He also thanked the US Marshals for providing him additional security and, without singling anyone out by name, offered a self-deprecating nod to those wished him the worst.
“To those who have prayed for my death: Your prayers will someday be answered, as inevitability trumps probability,’’ Biery wrote.
The unusually personal comments in a federal court order overshadowed the actual settlement. The case had been closely watched by social conservatives, and on the campaign trail, Newt Gingrich has portrayed Biery, a 1994 Clinton appointee, as the embodiment of so-called activist judges.
After winning the South Carolina primary, Gingrich singled out Biery as a “dictatorial religious bigot’’ for his decision in the San Antonio court case.
