[Vision2020] Ron Paul

[Paul Rumelhart]

In an effort to switch topics, I'd like to pose the following question:

What are people's thoughts on Ron Paul (Republican candidate for President)?

I'll start it off by saying that I'm on the lookout for candidates that 
might be somewhat palatable to both sides who don't care to establish 
more Presidential power or remove any more of my civil liberties, or 
force us to go to war with any other countries unjustifiably.  I fear 
that Hilary Clinton will prove to be a rallying point for Republicans to 
react against.  I'd be willing to switch my vote from my usual vote for 
Democrats or Independents if it means stopping the kind of trouble we're 
in the midst of now.

As for Ron Paul himself, I really like his stance on civil liberties.  I 
also like many of his Libertarian positions, but not all of them.  I 
like that he voted against the Patriot Act, and that he voted against 
the war in Iraq.  I don't like his isolationist tendencies, or his 
willingness to fence off Mexico.  I like that he wants to place more 
decisions in the hands of the individual states, even though I'm in the 
minority in Idaho.  He seems to be very principled, and doesn't seem to 
be in any corporations pocket.  I especially like that he sponsored a 
bill to have Congress declare an actual war in Iraq, although he stated 
he wouldn't vote for it.  He wanted a real declaration of war if we were 
going to war, not some Presidential power play.

As for his most famous recent stance, I think he is right that our 
actions in the past have caused a situation where we have made ourselves 
a target.  The concept of "blowback" is very real.  Our removal of a 
democratically-elected leader in Iran to be replaced by the Shah and the 
Iran-Contra affair haven't helped.  Training Osama Bin-Laden how to 
fight was probably not such a bright idea, either.  I'm not saying that 
we're to blame for 9/11, just that we may share in the blame in a small 
way through bad diplomatic or political decisions - and that we should 
take that into account when making more such decisions.

Anyway, enough of my opinions.  What does everyone else think?  Is this 
a candidate that can be reached out to by both sides?  If not, then who?

Paul