Even as much as I have supported Ron Paul I was surprised that he pulled 10% of the vote in the Iowa caucus. I guess I never thought much about a projection for what he would do, but even as a Paul advocate I don't think I would have guessed 10%. Even better, Fred Thompson and John "The Maverick" McCain were tied for 3rd with 13 percent, putting Paul squarely in position to vault them over the caucus season. This was an extremely strong showing and proved that the internet/word of mouth sensation is real. Just 5 months ago Paul was nowhere to be found on the national polling map. Three months ago he garnered just 3% of the votes and now he has risen in to the the top 4 of the first caucus. Not surprisingly, Giuliani pulled in a weak 3%. Oh, but don't forget, he "didn't concentrate on Iowa." Come on, for a guy who was a "frontrunner" polling at 32 percent 3 months ago to get almost no support in the first primary really should spell the end for him.
Ok, no more talk about Giuliani. I don't ever want to have to think about that guy again and I'd love to be able to start that right now. How's about that Paul though, huh? I think this should be called a huge victory for him and his chances of jumping in to the top 3 and fighting it out with Huckabee and Romney are now closer than I imagined they would be at this point. People are probably going to compare this to Howard Dean winning 18% of the vote in the '04 Iowa caucus but I don't think it's the same thing. Kerry and Edwards were the clear favorites and most smart people believed the only thing that could beat Bush was some form of Kerry/Edwards ticket. I myself was a Kucinich-backer back then.
In this current Republican race there are no clear favorites, nobody who is really galvanizing the voters yet. Giuliani's (whoops) tumble over the last few months is clear evidence of that. The same thing could happen to Romney and Huckabee. Thompson and McCain are no threat for the nomination and Giuliani apparently isn't either any more. The Paul campaign has the money to stick with this for the long haul, proven by the fact that Paul's campaign contributions rivaled those of Barack Obama (kinda sounds 'Osama') and Hilary Clinton over the last quarter of the year. This is great news as guys like Thompson and McCain won't be able to stay in the race without multiple substantial victories; Huckabee has already spent a lot of money on straw polls and gimmicky commercials but he still cannot claim a strong position atop the Republican heap and Romney? Well ladies and gentlemen, Mitt Romney is not going to win the election or even the nomination, though he has spent a ton of money to finish high in a couple of caucuses and that's all I have to say about that.
I believe that this is just the beginning of a very strong run for Paul. All the right things have happened so far from the meteoric rise in national public polls to the fund raising to the weak opposition. Paul has the money, the ideas and the solid support base to change this race around and if people continue to open their eyes and ears to the man, I believe that he'll find himself on top of the heap. And now after the Iowa caucus, I believe it a little more, even.
Ron Paul on Meet the Press (Russert doesn't seem to understand the concept of whether something is constitutional or not, but it's still a solid watch):
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