Ron Paul mobbed by reporters at the ABC News Facebook debate

January 05, 2008 11:12 PM

ABC's Z. Byron Wolf reports: Ron Paul was the only Republican debate participant to personally grace the spin room at the ABC News / Facebook / WMUR debate (at least when this reporter was present). As such, he was mobbed by reporters and TV cameras, still photographers and radio microphones.

He seemed to relish the attention, and said, if nothing else, he has brought the field incrementally toward his way of thinking in some important respects.

"If you listen carefully, you hear some of the language out there of some of the things I have been talking about," Paul said. A reporter asked him about the sniggers that seemed to bubble up around him from other candidates during the debate, when he talked about the gold standard.

"Well, I have a little more educating to do on that," Paul said. "They talk now about inflation. That was a great step, but they have to understand that it is the falling dollar that is the inflation. So, they've taken one bold step, and I think they're understanding that better," he argued. "But the American people understand it, the crowds I talk to understand it, but you have to go back to what I said about [how] the price of oil is steady in the last ten years, in terms of gold, and if gold were money, the price would not have gone up."

Despite any baby steps Paul sees in campaign rhetoric, there remain enormous differences between his pure, libertarian-style Republicanism, and every other candidate.

"It's not me being disconnected from our colleagues as much as it is them being disconnected from our platform," he said, starting to spin (metaphorically).

One thing he does not have to spin is how long he can stay In the race.

"I am in it as long as my supporters want me to be in it, and they finance the campaign, and they do that all spontaneously," he said, not overtly mentioning the $20 million his supporters donated in the final quarter of 2007, but making it clear he has political capital in a very literal sense.

"Their enthusiasm is growing every day, so now we just have to get FOX to let me in their debate so I can get that message out," he said, overtly alluding to a FOX News forum to be held here in New Hampshire tomorrow. Paul has been excluded for not polling at 10 percent support among Republicans, nationally.

Instead, he'll pay to produce a live town hall meeting of his own on public access in New Hampshire and the Internet worldwide.

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[Rustyshackleford08]

This guy can win...ya just have to vote!! PLEASE!!

[BillyvonDumpling]

Nicest guy in the world. Too bad this country only likes assholes.

[Skyhawk7040]

To all Paul supporters: Next Money bomb WE MUST donate. This man is going to need some money to campaign in NH and SC after he takes Iowa.

[MrBullfrog9876]

I caught myself looking for the vertical and horizontal knobs on my laptop.

[Fran01234567890]

although I'm not a Ron Paul supporter, I do have a lot of respect for him because he is the most consistent politician there is. His views with respect to the issues are clear and consistent. That's something rarely seen in our political system.

[soccom8341576]

agreed.

[MadddSkeelz]

thats cuz there is none

[importsstillsuck]

yall gotta realize somthing, having guns does not have anything to do with the constitution per se, 2nd amendment wasnt put in place to grant you the right to bear arms, it was put in place to help guarantee your right to bear arms, so essentially you always had and always will have the right to bear arms, the second amendment merely put it into writing for us.

[AJxn3]

lol @ 02:13

That's not exactly what we meant by "He needs more face time"...

[soccom8341576]

That doesn't tell me why Ron Paul is a con like the rest of them.

Very true. More guns than people. But that's constitutional.

He has been on the same views for over 30 years. It's hard to find anyone as constitutional, virtuous and consistent as Ron Paul.

[bondb1007]

I state this for the record. There will be no soft landing in this humpty dumpy economic situation, and all of King George horses (armed forces) and all the kings men (NWO and neo-con) will not be able to put it back together again.

Truth, Love, Peace.... out.