Ron Paul: Ten Virtues

If Barack Obama were the things my conservative friends say about him, I’d hate him too. But I know too much about the president to see him as a cartoonish villain.

I’m determined not to see the Republican candidates cartoonishly, either. So: I’ve written ten things I admire about Ron Paul. Ron Paul seems to be taking fire from all sides right now.

I’d never vote for the good Congressman. That doesn’t mean he’s without virtues. Here’s my quick list of his praises.

1.  He’s consistent. What he said last year before one audience, he says this year before a different audience.

2.  He’s brave. It takes courage to enter the political arena – particularly at the presidential level. He’s not naive. He knew his past would be pried open. That did not stop him.

3.  He’s energetic. It’s exhausting to run for president. He’s holding up. You never hear of him making an exhaustion-induced flub.

4.  He’s blunt. He has to know that his anti-war stance goes against the grain of the Republican base. He has to know that his belief that the government should not regulate marriage defies the Republican base’s hatred of gay marriage. But Paul doesn’t try to finesse his opinion or equivocate about it.

5.  He’s independent. This is the flip side of being out of the mainstream of his party. He makes up his own mind.

6.  He’s a good father. He must be: one of his sons is a senator.

7.  He’s a good husband. He’s been married to his first wife since 1957. There’s been no whiff of sexual scandal.

8.  He’s smart. Love him or hate him, Jon Stewart is a smart guy. And Paul stays with him in their debates. And Paul holds his own in the candidate debates. Other candidates have shown that that’s not necessarily easy.

9.  He’s financially shrewd. He apparently made millions with his (now controversial) newsletters.

10.  He’s educated. He graduated from medical school, and he’s written six books on economics – albeit his own brand of economics. But six books on economics are six books on economics.