Former presidential candidate Rick Santorum’s chief strategist John Brabender recently went on Andrea Mitchell’s mid-day MSNBC show to hint a meeting between former rivals Santorum and Mitt Romney in Philadelphia.

“Coincidentally,” he said, “that meeting might take place here in Philadelphia. What a great place to start a winning campaign for the fall would be right here where basically America got started. But that meeting will take place in the next two weeks possibly.”

In addition, he said Romney has made clear he’s looking for Santorum’s endorsement. Santorum represents a certain base of the Republican Party, as we detailed in this week’s cover story, and his support will be crucial if Romney hopes to unite all stool legs of the GOP.

Romney is the likely GOP nominee, though Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul remain in the race.

Brabender said Santorum will be an active participant on the campaign trail, whether he endorses the likely presidential candidate or not. Santorum hit Romney hard on the trail in recent months, having called his former foe “uniquely unqualified” for the presidential race, due to his former stance on healthcare reform. The former Pennsylvania senator’s words were also easily misinterpreted to suggest he’d support Obama over Romney in the General Election in March. Santorum called that accusation “bullshit.”