File this one under "Whodathunkit?"
From The Politico:
Literally if you had bet me four months ago that Ron Paul would beat then pundit predicted front runner Rudy Giuliani in every one of the races prior to Florida I'd have taken that bet and then asked you what you were smoking. Looking at it now I think it goes to show exactly how much strength Paul's message has with people and that Rudy's strategy was a total gamble. Frankly I hope Paul beats Giuliani in Florida too. That would shut down Rudy's campaign and possibly enable McCain to win on Tsunami Tuesday and still give Paul's campaign enough impetus to continue onward.
Ron Paul continues to best Giuliani
Ron Paul, the Texas congressman frequently dismissed as a long shot candidate with no real chance at winning the Republican presidential nomination, has won nearly twice as many total votes to date as Rudy Giuliani, a candidate still widely viewed as a strong contender.
With his second place finish in Saturday’s Nevada caucus, where Paul defeated Giuliani in every county in the state, the Texas congressman has now received 106,414 votes to 60,220 for Giuliani. Both candidates have collected zero actual delegates.
As predicted Paul isn't going to win the nomination. But I think its important for Paul's ideals to to receive as large a forum as possible. However given the recent brouhaha over his old newsletter I don't see him running past Tsunami Tuesday. He can't run on a third party ticket without excerpts from his newsletter being thrown in his face continually. So while I applaud him for reengaging disaffected voters and spreading libertarian ideas I think Feb. fifth is the perfect time to separate the message from messenger.
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