WSJ: Ron Paul's support comes because of his views

Positive coverage of Ron Paul in the Sep 5 GOP debate in the Wall Street Journal:

The debate was full of fireworks about Iraq, about its essentials--the rightness of the endeavor, and what should rightly be done now. From the libertarian Ron Paul a blunt argument against the war: We never should have gone in and we should get out. "The people who say there'll be a blood bath are the same ones who said it would be a cakewalk. . . . Why believe them?" His foreign policy: "Mind our own business, bring our troops home, defend our country, defend our borders." After Mr. Paul spoke, it seemed half the room booed, but the other applauded. When a thousand Republicans are in a room and one man of the eight on the stage takes a sharply minority viewpoint on a dramatic issue and half the room seems to cheer him, something's going on.

Ron Paul's support isn't based on his persona, history or perceived power. What support he has comes because of his views. As he spoke, you could hear other candidates laughing in the background. They should stop giggling, and engage in a serious way.

Tough questions for Ron Paul? Bring 'em on

There has been some criticism of the moderators' treatment of Ron Paul during the Sep. 5 GOP debates, but I think they actually did a great job. I was in the audience at the Whitemore center, and for the most part, the moderators asked questions that were already on the minds of many people. For example, when Chris Wallace asked Paul "Are you saying we should take our marching orders from Al Qaeda?", there was a lot of applause in the audience. (But not as much as when Paul replied "We should take our marching orders from the Constitution!". )

So sure, they asked tough questions of Paul, but they asked tough questions of everyone else too. They confronted McCain with his voting against the very tax cuts he praised. They aired a question from someone in the cafe to Giuliani about his divorces. They pounded Romney (unfairly, I thought) about illegal immigratants in the "sanctuary cities" in MA and about his quickly-retracted remark that his sons' working on his campaign was equivalent to serving in the military.

I am impressed with how far we've come. Though they waited a long time before asking him a question, Paul eventually got a good amount of time to talk during the debate. No one now says "all the Republican candidates support the war." Indeed, this morning's Boston Herald coverage of the debate led off with this sentence: "Republican presidential contenders voiced support for the Iraq war last night despite a warning from anti-war candidate Ron Paul ..."

I was sitting next to someone who was apparently very well connected in NH politics, and while he didn't support Paul, he respected him for being so principled. During their post-debate interview with Hannity & Colmes, even several other candidates gave Paul props for his principled approach.

I'm happy with anything except ignoring him. Tough questions? Bring 'em on. As Obi Wan said to Vader, "If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine."

Paul is one of the most articulate advocates of the principles of libertarianism that I have ever seen. He has an amazing ability to respond lucidly and clearly to even the most biased questions, and he always cuts to the heart of the issue. With every word Paul speaks, he sprinkles a little more holy water on the vampire of the state.

Transcript: Ron Paul's exchange with Huckabee over US foreign policy

Transcript of Ron Paul's exchange over US foreign policy with Mike Huckabee during the Sep. 5 GOP debate. Huckabee was correct to point out that "Even if we lose elections, we should not lose our honor". Unfortunately, FOX's post-debate broadcast and CNN's Politcal Ticker cut out Paul's response. That's too bad, because his statement about losing American lives to save face was another great moment in the history of modern American politics.

FORMER ARKANSAS GOVERNOR MIKE HUCKABEE: Congressman, whether or not we should have gone to Iraq is a discussion the historians can have, but we're there. We bought it because we broke it. We've got a responsibility to the honor of this country and to the honor of every man and woman who has served in Iraq and ever served in our military to not leave them with anything less than the honor that they deserve.

MODERATOR: Go ahead. You wanted to respond? Go ahead. It was addressed to you, you go ahead and respond.

TEXAS REP. RON PAUL: The American people didn't go in. A few people advising this administration — a small number of people called the neoconservatives — hijacked our foreign policy. They're responsible, not the American people. They're not responsible. We shouldn't punish them.

HUCKABEE: Congressman, we are one nation. We can't be divided. We have to be one nation under God. That means if we make a mistake, we make it as a single country: the United States of America —

PAUL: No. —

HUCKABEE: — not the Divided States of America.

PAUL: When we make a mistake, it is the obligation of the people through their representatives to correct the mistake, not to continue the mistake.

HUCKABEE: And that's what we do on the floor of the senate.

PAUL: No, we've dug a hole for ourselves and we've dug a hole for our party. We're losing elections and we're going down next year if we don't change it, and it has all to do with foreign policy and we have to wake up to this fact.

HUCKABEE: Even if we lose elections, we should not lose our honor, and that is more important to the Republican party.

PAUL: We have lost over 5000 Americans over there in Afghanistan and Iraq, plus the civilians killed. How many more do you want to lose? How long are we going to be there? What do we have to pay to save face? All we're doing is saving face. It's time we came home.

CS Monitor: A New Hampshire mom walks her talk for Ron Paul

The Christian science Monitor has a great article on Kelly Halldorson's 38-mile walk for Ron Paul.

Her kids have made accommodations with her new calling. Zoë, 9, has become a little helper: She wrote "Ron Paul" in crayon on a scrap of notebook paper, fastened it to a wooden stake with a Ron Paul bumper sticker, and plunged it into their front lawn.