Craig Crawford on the Revolution

Watch Out for Ron Paul

By Craig Crawford

11:35 AM; Oct. 04, 2007

Ron Paul could be for real. The Texas congressman’s Republican presidential bid once seemed like just another sideshow, with the mild-mannered maverick flailing at windmills. But Paul’s libertarian stands against big government and the war in Iraq have played well in GOP debates and generated an intensely loyal following.

Most importantly, he’s got money — $5.1 million raised for his campaign just in the year’s third quarter just ended, with at least 70 percent of it coming from online donors. Combine this with a lack of enthusiasm among GOP voters for the front-running candidates, and you’ve got the makings of a surprise showing for Paul in early-voting states.

It most certainly would not be enough to propel him to the nomination — but with this much momentum, he could always keep it going after a losing GOP bid. He ran for president in 1988 as the standard bearer for the Libertarian Party, which might be receptive to embracing him again at its nominating convention in May.

Contributing Editor Craig Crawford is a news analyst for NBC, MSNBC and CNBC. He can be reached at [email protected].

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1:04 pm on October 4, 2007