A Tougher, More Aggressive Ron Paul Announces His Candidacy For President
His announcement of his candidacy for President in the 2012 election showed a new, more aggressive, more combative Ron Paul than we've seen in the past. I love it! by Walt Thiessen
(libertarian)
Friday, May 13, 2011
Congressman Ron Paul of Texas today announced that he is a candidate for President. While not a surprise to his supporters, his candidacy is personally a relief for me, because it means I'll have someone for whom I can vote in good conscience. However, everyone should take note of the fact that the way he announced, the way he conducted his interview with George Stephanopoulos showed us that a new, tougher, more aggressive Ron Paul is running this year. That's something the Republican political elite will notice, and they won't like it.
In past elections, Paul has always come off as genial, friendly, and conversational. All of these are good traits, although they are not the basis for effective political campaigning. An effective campaigner is aggressive, hammers his points through, and even (if necessary) talks over his interviewer. Paul didn't do those things in the past, but he did them in today's interview. Stephanopoulos repeatedly attempted to interrupt Paul to hit him with a tough question, but each time Paul refused to stop or even to slow down. He kept right on talking, and even more impressively, ended up answering each of those questions while continuing his spiel. His new, aggressive approach is noteworthy.
It reminded me of an old West Wing TV episode, during the season when Jimmy Smits played presidential candidate and ultimate winner of the West Wing presidential race, Congressman Matt Santos. His campaign manager, Josh Lyman (played by Bradley Whitford), preps Santos before a press conference while they're entering an elevator. A potentially toxic issue has come up during the campaign, and Josh is prepping Santos to ignore all of the press's questions by hammering instead on the Santos education platform. One of his staff protests that all of the questions are going to be about the other issue, to which Josh sagely replied, "Yeah, but none of the answers." The skill of not answering the questions that the interviewer wants to hang on you is something that Paul hadn't demonstrated in the past, but he demonstrated it today. It's a signal that we will see a whole new Ron Paul this time around, a tougher Ron Paul who still doesn't dodge the tough issues but who can't as easily be steamrolled as in the past.
The question of whether Paul is right on the issues is secondary here. From my point-of-view, of course he's right. It's becoming harder and harder for people to deny that fact. Even Andrew Malcolm of the Los Angeles Times in his article, "Ron Paul: Why his silly campaign launch today really matters for 2012", couldn't find anything specifically negative to say about Paul's latest campaign other than to suggest that he was too old for voters to take seriously. He didn't dare take Paul on regarding the issues because he knows that what Paul says is resonating with Americans more than ever.
Others have suggested, and will continue to suggest, that Paul cannot win. I disagree. Paul definitely can win. Whether he will win is another matter, but clearly, if his son can win the Kentucky Senate seat as a political newcomer by gaining statewide attention purely on the basis of his more famous father's popularity, then clearly the father himself is equally capable, perhaps even more capable, of turning his popularity into victory.
That being said, I don't think there is any doubt that the biggest obstacle, at this point in time, to a Paul victory is the popularity of President Obama. Paul is right that the taking of Osama Bin Laden could have been done much better, but that doesn't change the fact that Obama, from most Americans' point-of-view, is looking very presidential these days. Those of us who fight for liberty may not like this fact, but we would be fools not to take notice of it. The good news is that the primaries are eight months away, and the election is nearly nineteen months away. That's a lot of time for the Bin Laden effect to wear off the Obama presidency.
Ultimately, though, the most important thing, even more important than whether Paul will win the election, is that Paul's campaign will influence the debate. We are now assured that the monetary and banking system will play a front-and-center role in the national debate, and that's a very good thing for everyone, even if they don't realize it now.
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Posted By: Natalie Schultz
Date: May 14, 2011 11:35:02 PM
I agree, Ron Paul is MUCH better this time around! I didn't see the GMA interview, but I did watch the Cavuto interview - Paul was very direct and to the point, even taking on leading questions with ease. He also spoke in a way ordinary Americans can understand - focusing on the important points, rather than the nitty-gritty economic details that turn ordinary Americans off.
BTW: Thanks for vindicating my article that analyzed the debate. I stated that his age would be used against him and some people got mad at me, but based on the LA Times article I was dead on! "Even Andrew Malcolm of the Los Angeles Times in his article, "Ron Paul: Why his silly campaign launch today really matters for 2012", couldn't find anything specifically negative to say about Paul's latest campaign other than to suggest that he was too old for voters to take seriously."
At this point I have all but tossed off my support of Gary Johnson and I am once again firmly behind Ron Paul! Judge Napolitano interviewed Johnson on Beck's show and he had ZERO enthusiasm; with a friendly interviewer like The Judge he SHOULD have knocked it out of the park and he did not :(
So, Ron Paul is now THE MAN TO BEAT!!! :)
Irkingly, my mother threw out all my Ron Paul campaign gear / pamphlets left over from last election, so I have to start from scratch :( BUT, this time it won't be just around the corner from Super Tuesday! I just hope I can get my old files off my old laptop - my old campaign letter was very convincing, in my humble opinion (it DID get a Huckabee / McCain supporter to consider Ron Paul).
