It was only last week that I first heard of Ron Paul, from a video linked on Reddit. (He's a long time Congressman from Texas who is contesting to be elected as the Republican candidate for Presidentship. His visibility shot up a few days back due to a 9/11-related spat with fellow contestant and ex N.Y. mayor Rudi Giuliani in a debate with other Republican candidates on Fox News. An immediate poll gave him the top rating among the debaters, though it's possible that the poll was spammed by avid supporters.)
As I watched that hour long speech, I kept on getting surprised by his skill in presenting a classical liberal, libertarian critique of the current Conservative control of US government. He draws with a casual, scholarly flair from American history, Constitution, economics, foreign policy and plain common sense. His voting record in Congress has been highly consistent with his ideals.
Much of his ideas are derived from first principles of Libertarianism and classical liberalism (he even won from the Libertarian Party ticket once!), so a few quotes will convey the gist of his positions:
"The government should be out of regulating the economy."
"Working Americans like lower taxes. So do I."
"The war in Iraq was sold to us with false information. The area is more dangerous now than when we entered it."
"The biggest threat to your privacy is the government."
I doubt Ron Paul will win either the Republican nomination or the Presidentship in case he wins the first (I hope I'm proved wrong). His opinions are too radical for either big business or the poor to see any immediate benefit. Moreover, his thoughtful, fact-filled presentations could be overrun by someone more charming and folksy like Bush. He has little backing even within the Republican party. That is a bad sign when running for a job in which one should carry the whole country along!
Ron Paul is best suited for heading committees and framing policy, which he has always been doing. Still, his 15 minutes of fame will improve the quality of debate and put the focus on some core questions of the idea of US in an arena where personality and rhetoric rule.
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