wgadget
02-08-2008, 08:31 PM
http://www.thirdpartywatch.com/2008/02/
(8th article down from top)
Blogging CPAC: Ron Paul on Presidential Steroids
CPAC 2008 CHAPTER SIX: The New Ron Paul
I missed the first portion of Bob Barr’s introduction of Ron Paul yesterday because some whacked-out independent presidential wannabe ran into me in the hallway. However, I took copious notes during the intro and the speech, notes which are no longer needed, because it’s now on YouTube (Barr intro, Paul Part 1, Paul Part 2, Paul Part 3).
During the first part of Ron Paul’s speech, I was sitting next to a reporter from one of the major cable television outlets. The crowd wasn’t dominated by Paul supporters, but there were quite a few there. The few McCain supporters were easy to find. I didn’t note many Huckabee people in the room. There were a whole lot of Romney supporters there, many still sporting Romney stickers and buttons. The reporter and I initially focused our attention on an obvious Romney supporter and an obvious McCain supporter to note their reactions.
One really, really interesting thing I observed was the amount of applause Romney supporters gave Ron Paul. Other than on the foreign policy issue, they were cheering as loudly as the Ron Paul supporters. The McCain supporters were not cheering, but sat with their arms crossed, for the most part. There was a battle of boos and cheers (the anti-war cheers eventually drowned out the boos) over a statement Paul made about Iraq. I suspect McCain supporters were the loudest of the opposition.
The video doesn’t depict something well that quite a few people in the media section noted. Ron Paul actually sounded like a presidential candidate. I’ve probably heard Paul speak around fifty times in my life and seen him on television many more times. Weigel wrote:
If anyone was wondering what effect Ron Paul’s new hires like Doug Bandow or Daniel McCarthy were having on Ron Paul’s campaign, it was on display when he addressed CPAC late yesterday, the last candidate to speak to the grand ballroom before it was cleaned up for a banquet. Paul’s speech was the most combative I’d ever heard from him, and the message sent out from his campaign was that it wouldn’t be the last.
One reporter told me that Paul would have won several states already if he had been speaking like this a public events. A Romney supporter I know told me that Paul’s speech convinced him to support Paul. “I may not agree with Paul on Iraq, but saving the Republican Party is more important than that single issue,” a pregnant Romney supporter said to me. “This nomination is about turning the Republican Party back to conservative values and Ron Paul is the last candidate standing who has any.”
Back to Weigel:
The key moments in the speech were harsh statements of his foreign policy and attacks on John McCain. That latter stuff was red meat for this conference. After one subdued mention of McCain’s pledge to keep troops in Iraq for a hundred years if needed, Paul said “McCain” had a few troublesome friends. “One of his friends is named… Feingold!” Then a blast against campaign finance reform. “Another of his friends is named… Kennedy!” Then, an attack on immigration reform. “Another of his friends, although he’s not in the Senate anymore, is Daschle! Tom Daschle. Working with him on raising taxes, not cutting taxes.” All of this got the biggest cheers from the most listless, curious section of the crowd. Kids and middle-aged men who’d had their arms folded for most of the speech started smirking and saying “Yeah!” at every McCain hit.
It is likely to be too late to make a major difference, but something tells me a new chapter has just opened in the Paul presidential campaign.
__________________
(8th article down from top)
Blogging CPAC: Ron Paul on Presidential Steroids
CPAC 2008 CHAPTER SIX: The New Ron Paul
I missed the first portion of Bob Barr’s introduction of Ron Paul yesterday because some whacked-out independent presidential wannabe ran into me in the hallway. However, I took copious notes during the intro and the speech, notes which are no longer needed, because it’s now on YouTube (Barr intro, Paul Part 1, Paul Part 2, Paul Part 3).
During the first part of Ron Paul’s speech, I was sitting next to a reporter from one of the major cable television outlets. The crowd wasn’t dominated by Paul supporters, but there were quite a few there. The few McCain supporters were easy to find. I didn’t note many Huckabee people in the room. There were a whole lot of Romney supporters there, many still sporting Romney stickers and buttons. The reporter and I initially focused our attention on an obvious Romney supporter and an obvious McCain supporter to note their reactions.
One really, really interesting thing I observed was the amount of applause Romney supporters gave Ron Paul. Other than on the foreign policy issue, they were cheering as loudly as the Ron Paul supporters. The McCain supporters were not cheering, but sat with their arms crossed, for the most part. There was a battle of boos and cheers (the anti-war cheers eventually drowned out the boos) over a statement Paul made about Iraq. I suspect McCain supporters were the loudest of the opposition.
The video doesn’t depict something well that quite a few people in the media section noted. Ron Paul actually sounded like a presidential candidate. I’ve probably heard Paul speak around fifty times in my life and seen him on television many more times. Weigel wrote:
If anyone was wondering what effect Ron Paul’s new hires like Doug Bandow or Daniel McCarthy were having on Ron Paul’s campaign, it was on display when he addressed CPAC late yesterday, the last candidate to speak to the grand ballroom before it was cleaned up for a banquet. Paul’s speech was the most combative I’d ever heard from him, and the message sent out from his campaign was that it wouldn’t be the last.
One reporter told me that Paul would have won several states already if he had been speaking like this a public events. A Romney supporter I know told me that Paul’s speech convinced him to support Paul. “I may not agree with Paul on Iraq, but saving the Republican Party is more important than that single issue,” a pregnant Romney supporter said to me. “This nomination is about turning the Republican Party back to conservative values and Ron Paul is the last candidate standing who has any.”
Back to Weigel:
The key moments in the speech were harsh statements of his foreign policy and attacks on John McCain. That latter stuff was red meat for this conference. After one subdued mention of McCain’s pledge to keep troops in Iraq for a hundred years if needed, Paul said “McCain” had a few troublesome friends. “One of his friends is named… Feingold!” Then a blast against campaign finance reform. “Another of his friends is named… Kennedy!” Then, an attack on immigration reform. “Another of his friends, although he’s not in the Senate anymore, is Daschle! Tom Daschle. Working with him on raising taxes, not cutting taxes.” All of this got the biggest cheers from the most listless, curious section of the crowd. Kids and middle-aged men who’d had their arms folded for most of the speech started smirking and saying “Yeah!” at every McCain hit.
It is likely to be too late to make a major difference, but something tells me a new chapter has just opened in the Paul presidential campaign.
__________________