The man who is the target of a massive smear-job in the current National Review, and whose possible victory in Iowa has already been deemed irrelevant by the national media … is now second only to Romney in match-ups with Obama next fall. Gingrich would lose to Obama by 9 points, Perry by 12.5 points, Bachmann by 14.7 but Paul would only lose by 7.7.
CNN's poll yesterday is even more striking. It finds Romney and Paul tied behind Obama at 7 points behind. Compare that with Gingrich's 16 point deficit. So, in one national poll, Ron Paul does the best against Obama in the fall.
I understand why many do not support Ron Paul. What I do not understand is why he is not taken seriously by his own party. He is the most electable not-Romney. And, yes, I do concede he is not ready for government in the usual sense. But that's his point:
I would be a different kind of president. I wouldn’t be looking for more power. Everybody wants to be a powerful executive and run things. I, as a president, wouldn’t want to run the world.
My point is less that he would be the best president than that he is currently the best medicine for the GOP's degeneracy – and therefore the body politic's. A reader adds:
The quote of the day is perfect. We all know the GOP is insane, but I like to think that it was Barack Obama that drove them there. They really have lost their collective shit over him. For me, the last three years looks like a great big tantrum that a child might throw when they don't get their way. Why, they can't even vote for the payroll tax cut that they all agree upon lest they give Obama some scintilla of success.
If the GOP wins in 2012, wouldn't that be an endorsement of this kind of behavior? Wouldn't it be like the parent who gives in to the brat throwing the tantrum? This party needs to destroy itself so that it can rise again. What better way to do that than by nominating Ron Paul? If Ron Paul wins Iowa and gets close in NH, then watch out. It will be mutiny. Personally, I can't wait.
Me neither.
(Photo: Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul and actor Joe Rogan appear on the Tonight Show With Jay Leno at NBC Studios on December 16, 2011 in Burbank, California. By Kevin Winter/NBCUniversal/Getty Images)
The Dish 