Ron Paul Tidbits In The News

As the Paul campaign continues to show more and more that it is for real and not the work of a few spammers, this columnist explores the coverage Paul is getting from news providers.
by Walt Thiessen
(libertarian)
Tuesday, November 13, 2007

The presence of Ron Paul in the 2008 presidential campaign has certainly been gaining traction in the weeks since his fundraising successes have become better known. Today, we take a quick walk through the news to see how his campaign is faring among the media.

We start in Philadelphia where U.S. News & World Report magazine reported that 5,000 attended a Paul rally over the weekend on Saturday. That figure alone is enough to startle any reader, no matter what their political orientation or who they currently support. It was a very short article, which is understandable. After all, what more did it need to say?

The Chicago Tribune published a lengthy article on Dr. Paul that covered his political views in a series of soundbytes on a wide range of issues. In their article they noted, "Ron Paul consistently draws enthusiastic crowds, often topping 1,500 people, during campaign stops around the country, particularly at colleges and universities. But name recognition remains problematic." Yet the article also devoted considerable column inches to describing Paul the human being, rather than Paul the politician. The reporter was obviously very impressed that this candidate was no fake personna, but instead was a real person with whom real people can identify. Particularly interesting was the end of the article where she asked him for some quick answers on some quick questions about his interests in life. The most notable are that he tries to walk three miles a day and bicycle 10 miles a day, that he loves chocolate chip cookies, and that he doesn't joke. Of course, his supporters already knew the last item in that list to be true where serious political issues are concerned

The Pittsburg Tribune-Review mourned the fact, "It used to be easy to portray Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul as a quixotic champion of a hopeless cause. But Don Quixote never raised $4.2 million in a single day"

The Barre Montepelier Times Argus in Vermont quoted Zephyr Teachout, a visiting assistant law professor at Duke University who was Dean's director of online organizing, as saying, "The Dean campaign was decentralized, but Paul's movement is actually run by nonstaffers. The buggy is pulling the horse." The article also noted that, "Paul's supporters seem prepared to push as far as he will let them. How far that will be is not yet clear; he has waved off suggestions of a third-party candidacy."

The Boston Herald reported that Paul was heard by 350 students at the University of New Hampshire on Friday and emphasized that Paul has said he is not interested in running as a third party candidate. They also included an interesting paragraph, "Rebecca Romanoski, a UNH student who grew up in Newton, N.H., said she came to see Paul because she heard he was a bit of a 'radical'. But she was turned off after hearing Paul say he would do very little to address global warming." Thus we are reminded that the Paul campaign doesn't necessarily resonate with everyone.

Notice of the campaign is also being taken in other countries. From our neighbors to the north comes The Walrus magazine which noted the Internet-driven nature of the Paul campaign and wrote:

"Even if mainstream Canadian candidates learn to use the Internet as well as their American counterparts, the real promise of the Web has yet to be grasped: taking common political wisdom and standing it on its head. I want to believe that somebody in Moose Jaw or Truro or Sherbrooke or Scarborough is watching Ron Paul this week — a backbench MPP, or a schoolboard trustee, or somebody who’s never run for office, somebody you and I have never heard of — and thinking up some crazy scheme of their own."

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic in the UK, the Sunday Herald reported:

"Paul describes his principles as 'old, old-right positions of the 1950s' but in espousing them he has tapped into a younger demographic largely lost to his Republican rivals, as evidenced by his huge online supporter base and the teenagers wearing 'Ron Paul revolution' T-shirts who attend his rallies. Party strategists dismiss this as negative appeal that will not translate into votes. Responding to the record day of donations, Republican consultant Frank Lutz told Time Magazine that Paul's supporters [are] 'just like him because he's the most anti-establishment of all the candidates, the most likely to look at the camera during the debates and say, Hey, Washington, f*** you'."

Personally, I can't imagine Paul saying anything so negative as that. He's much too positive in his expression toward and treatment of others.

Finally, the most improbable article comes from InsideBayArea.com, a San Francisco area website who were reporting on Barack Obama's campaign successes in the bay area. This fact should shock no one, given the liberal/democrat nature of the majority of the population in that area. What was shocking was that when they listed the local fundraising successes of the candidates, Ron Paul was third on the list behind Obama and Hillary Clinton, and he was a respectable third at that, finishing well ahead of Democrats John Edwards and Bill Richardson. Other Republicans were also far behind. The fundraising results they provided shape up as follows:

Barack Obama	D	$93,750
Hillary Clinton	D	$40,050
Ron Paul	R	$22,650
Rudy Giuliani	R	$5,600
John Edwards	D	$4,500
Bill Richardson	D	$3,800
John McCain	R	$2,300
Sam Brownback	R	$2,300
Fred Thompson	R	$500

The article barely mentions Paul at all, but look at those numbers! In a liberal stronghold, Paul puts the other Republicans to shame, demonstrating he is much more electable in such a region than any other candidate from his party.

I must note that the Paul campaign still isn't getting the attention of the truly major media. The TV networks still aren't giving him the kind of coverage they give the other major candidates in their evening news programs. I would have to characterize the current coverage as an improvement, but with room for more improvement.

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©2007 Walt Thiessen, all rights reserved. You must have written permission from the author in order to republish this work.
Published: Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Last modified: Tuesday, November 13, 2007

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