I support Mitt Romney for the GOP presidential nomination. 

However, the more I see and hear, the more I like and admire Ron Paul.

The debates have put him on center stage. He's demonstrated that he can play on the big stage and often times has out performed  his rivals.
Paul's clearly the most affable, principled and consistent candidate in the race. His self-depreciating manner, humor and cheerful persona are infectious:

He seems serenely comfortable in his own skin. He's brainy, a straight talker and talks straight from the heart. He doesn't pander to special interests or - as he says - “kiss the ring” of the likes of a Donald Trump.

Ron Paul's the 76 year old “Happy Warrior” of the Republican Party.

And his message is compelling:

To government, he says, you’re too big, bloated and intrusive; keep your hands out of my pocket and your nose out of my life.

To the world, he says, the United States can't afford to pay your bills any longer or clean-up the mess you've made in your country; we can't export Jeffersonian-style democracy to other peoples - you folks figure it out yourselves. And I'm particularly supportive of what he says about the war in Afghanistan.

And to the American people, he says, its all about liberty; individual freedom.*

Moreover, no candidate for the presidency has ever been more eloquent in expressing his adherence  to and reverence for the Constitution. He's unsurpassed in making the case for Constitutional government.

Of particular note, is the support - even adulation - Paul gets among young people: they love the guy!

They're turned off by the traditional pap and hypocrisy of today's politics and bought and sold politicians. They're  turned on by Paul's gospel of ”leave me alone” Libertarianism and free market capitalism. That support bodes well for the conservative cause and the country's future.

His critics say - and they're many - that he's not really a Republican. His constituents in Texas' 14th congressional district think otherwise. Since 1979, he's been elected to serve 10 terms in the House. In 2010, he received 80.7 percent of the vote against three Republican opponents.

The critics point to Paul's past writings and associations - 22 years ago - as being anti-Semitic and racist. He's disavowed the pamphlets and vehemently denies that he's an anti-Semite or a racist. For some, though, the issue remains troubling as Newt Gingrich’s past does for others.

.And they say he's too extreme; unconventional, even a bit whacky Paul responds by saying that the same was said about the Founding Fathers.

And, yes, some of Paul's supporters are obnoxious, fringe, anarchists-types. But as Ronald Reagan said, “I don't endorse them. They endorse me.”

Ron Paul won't be the Republican presidential nominee. But he's waged a remarkable campaign: his Libertarian message has resonated with many Americans and it will be force in the years to come. It's also become a strong voice within the Republican Party.

And more and more Americans “have opened minds to the to the libertarians’ argument. The essence of which is the common-sensical principle that before government interferes with the freedom of the individual and of individuals making consensual transactions in markets, it ought to have a defensible reason for doing so. It usually does not,” (George Will, “Declaration of independents,” Washington Post, July 29, 2011).

His message is far more important than the messenger or this one election

It's at the very core of conservative thought: liberty; the freedom and sanctity of the individual.

In the Declaration of Independence, the Founders proclaimed that we are endowed “with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness..”

In 1964, another messenger had the same message. Ron Paul's picked-up where Barry Goldwater left off.

*For more information on Paul's position on the issues, go to the link shown below.

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“GOP Field of Dreamers: The Libertarian and T-Paw,” (Red County, August 3, 2011)