Sarah Palin vs. Ron Paul.

Tea party activists are divided roughly into two camps, according to a new POLITICO/TargetPoint poll: one that’s libertarian-minded and largely indifferent to hot-button values issues and another that’s culturally conservative and equally concerned about social and fiscal issues. The survey, an exit poll conducted Thursday by Edison Research at the massive Tax Day protest on the National Mall, found that the attendees were largely hostile to President Barack Obama and the national Democratic Party — three-quarters believe the president “is pursuing a socialist agenda.”..Link

Run Ron, Run!

Normally, a septuagenarian obstetrician with a penchant for lengthy disquisitions on monetary policy would not seem a promising presidential candidate. And in 2008, Ron Paul raised millions of dollars and galvanized thousands of passionate supporters but failed to win a single Republican primary or caucus. The evidence is nevertheless mounting that the quirky libertarian-leaning congressman from Texas should make another go at it in 2012. Paul came within one vote of besting former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference (SRLC) straw poll. This strong showing came despite reports from the Daily Caller that Paul backers experienced difficulties registering for the conference or voting in its nonbinding poll...Link

Reckoning With Ron Paul.

No sooner did Congressman Ron Paul emerge in one of latest opinion polls as neck-and-neck with President Obama in 2012 than he came in for a new round of critical postings on the internet. One of them is quoted by Powerline’s John Hinderaker, who writes that he detects something “off” about the physician, who is a Republican from Texas. Mr. Hinderaker quotes an email from one of his readers who had heard Dr. Paul speak at a Tea Party event and concluded that he “ is a nut, out of touch with reality seemingly.”..Link