I have no doubt Paul thinks he can cut government better than all the others, and he may be right, but part of being able to do that is having some sort of allies to work with, I don't know how willing the Repub's would be in enacting all of what a Pres. Paul would want to do, but for that matter I don't know if they'd go along with everything a Pres. Santorum would want either, or a Pres. Newt...but my big fear is how much they would be willing to go along with everything a Pres. Romney wants!
I have to think Paul was just throwing red meat to his supporters, if he wanted to burn bridges and accept the full mantle of "crusading outsider/the only one who can" deal, then it would be in a more bold public fashion where he announces his intention to run as an independent.