If Ron Paul had never run for president, would McCain still be the GOP nominee?

[Mahkato]

While Ron Paul did bring a lot of new people to the GOP primaries and caucuses that otherwise would not have voted (such as myself), there are also a lot of people who would have voted for someone other than McCain if Paul wasn't in the running. How do you think the primary season would have ended?

For a refresher on the primaries, see this article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_%28United_States%29_presidential_ primaries,_2008) on Wikipedia.

[Truth Warrior]

Whoever TPTB wants and picks. ;)

[John E]

I don't think much would have changed...

[gaazn]

If Rudy had not run, McCain would not have been the nominee. Rudy's crash and burn left open a huge vacuum that allowed McCain to sweep the Florida, California, and all the northeast states. Of these, the only state he might win in the general election is Florida. Meanwhile, Obama swept the Western states and the South, but he's going to lose most of those states during the general. So something is flawed about the primary system.

[jkm1864]

I think the PTB picked Mc'Cain because He is a dry old fart. The guy is uninspiring and pretty boring atleast to me. I preferred the huckster by far because at least he seemed like a guy you would barbaque with. I think they picked Mc'Cain for that reason so Obama would inspire the sheep and win.

[ChaosControl]

I don't think RP made an impact in who was nominated. Other candidates did though. Like say if Romney wasn't running or Huckabee wasn't running, the votes would have consolidated behind a different candidate. I think had RP not run, a lot of the RP supporters simply wouldn't have participated in the caucuses, I probably wouldn't have.

[nate895]

Ron Paul didn't get a significant enough percentage in any primary until after it was all over, the only two places where his votes could have possibly upset the balance were New Hampshire and Washington State. It would have to an almost solid shift from Paul to Romney in New Hampshire, and Washington State was after it was mostly over anyway, it might would have kept Huckabee alive for at least long enough to possibly get back into the race, but that is still unlikely.

[mmink15]

I think Ron Paul saved us from a Rudy presidency at the very least. Remember Rudy's Reading List, and how everyone expected Rudy to win this thing a year or so ago

[Aratus]

a less crowded field early on has romney leading the pack.
had it been mccain, giuliani, huckabee and romney, i feel
the big money would have been more open to the mitt!!!:D

[kojirodensetsu]

I personally think that it would still be McCain. Although if say Huckabee never ran then it might have been Romney.

[tropicangela]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIRlNUqEdlU

[RevolutionSD]

While Ron Paul did bring a lot of new people to the GOP primaries and caucuses that otherwise would not have voted (such as myself), there are also a lot of people who would have voted for someone other than McCain if Paul wasn't in the running. How do you think the primary season would have ended?

For a refresher on the primaries, see this article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_%28United_States%29_presidential_ primaries,_2008) on Wikipedia.

McCain's campaign was dead in the water until the mainstream media resurected it and made him the "frontrunner" when it was apparent not enough people were buying Giuliani.

[tropicangela]

Ron Paul took it easy on McCain in the debate when it came to the economy. He asked if he'd get rid of the PPT or something instead of grilling him about the Constitution like he did to Mitt. Think that made a difference in McCain having an edge? To us, McCain looked like an idiot, but to the average person who didn't get Dr. Paul's question or care to look deeper, maybe they thought he answered it great... although, the economy wasn't such a big topic during the debate.

When it came to Ron Paul vs. McCain in war, what happened? I can't remember. Edit: Oh yeah, McCain said the soldiers all begged him to let them finish the war...:rolleyes: And RP said that he rec'd the most active duty donations. Have you heard about the new Military Times poll? Says they think McCain will better handle Iraq & Afghanistan than Obama.

[alaric]

Ron Paul didn't get a significant enough percentage in any primary until after it was all over, the only two places where his votes could have possibly upset the balance were New Hampshire and Washington State. It would have to an almost solid shift from Paul to Romney in New Hampshire, and Washington State was after it was mostly over anyway, it might would have kept Huckabee alive for at least long enough to possibly get back into the race, but that is still unlikely.

you really have to remember that RP's votes were switched with mcjerk to steal the NH primary. That set the whole thing off. Whoever they chose to switch RP's votes with to 'get him out of the way' would have stolen the momentum, like mctheif did.

[ClayTrainor]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIRlNUqEdlU

classic:cool:

[Matt Collins]

It's real simple. The conservative vote was split 5 different ways and McCain was the last many left standing.

[AggieforPaul]

Although Im a Ron Paul or bust guy now, I would probably have voted for Romney or maybe Huckabee if Paul had never run. I didnt like McCain even back then.