As I exited the Union Theater on Friday evening after Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul opened his youth tour with a rousing campaign speech, I couldn’t help but be a bit impressed.
For many in attendance, a renegade hero of modern American politics stood on the stage before them. Paul outlined the platform he had stumped so many times before: essentially, government limits freedoms, and less government means more freedom for everyone.
The fervor of Paul’s supporters is unquestionable. Though they may be small in number, they make up for it with their total investment in Paul’s policy positions.
Some chanted “End the Fed!” and a collective roar rose up when Paul made his entrance onto the stage.
Three weeks ago, I wrote a column about Paul’s difficulties with the theory of evolution, and the response it elicited brought to my attention the doggedness of his supporters. That being said, any time a political rally looks this much like a rock concert, the candidate must be doing something right.
Paul is an effusive and skilled speaker. He hasn’t lost a step, so to speak, which is doubly impressive considering he’s only four years — a presidential term, incidentally — away from being 80 years old.
I found myself nodding in agreement with Paul’s take on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the dismal failure colloquially termed the “Drug