Time’s Jay Carney previews this afternoon’s GOP debate from Michigan. Most people will, quite naturally, be most concerned with judging Fred Thompson’s debut performance. But Ron Paul has quite a bit at stake here too. Carney says:
Finally, there’s Ron Paul, whose anti-Iraq War, libertarian message has made him this campaign cycle’s surprise phenom. He forces the other candidates to spend more time defending the Bush administration than they’d like. And having pulled in as much money in the third quarter as John McCain, Paul isn’t about to fade away.
True, but this debate is supposed to be concerned with economic policy. That spells trouble for Dr Paul. Hitherto his goldbuggery and old-fashioned views on “sound money” have generally been overlooked (in as much as he’s received any attention at all, of course). There are plenty of people to whom Paul’s anti-war, limited government message appeals who might pause to reconsider their enthusiasm if he’s seen banging on and on about returning to the gold standard.
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