Ron Paul was the last Presidential candidate I was truly enthusiastic about. In his last race he was up against a stacked deck and got cheated by the Romney people, but he still received a lot of support at the grassroots level. He was a man of principle and I'm glad he didn't endorse Romney when Romney became the nominee.
Dr. Paul's mind is still very sharp even in his 80s. He is amazing and a true patriot.
I would still like Ron Paul. I knew the last time he ran it would have to be his last - he was already pushing it age wise last time he ran. His son is solid on the basic concepts, but tries too hard to play the game and keep people happy. Ron Paul's biggest problem - when it came to running, is he was too nice.
The establishment attempted to "Ron Paul" Donald Trump, but it didn't work. Why? Donald Trump has a big mouth and called them on it. Also he could afford the lawyers to stop it.
Had Ron Paul been able to be a loud mouth like Trump he might have been able to pull it off - but would we have still liked him as much?
Rand Paul needs to learn from all of this - if he can learn to not cave to the pressure of "popular media opinions" and learn to be a bit of a loud mouth he might be able to be the president his dad wanted to be. I'm able to look past party labels and accept libertarianism beyond party affiliation. That being said, I hope Austin Peterson makes it as a Republican.
And he’s not running. He never even made it onto the ballot. However, the Libertarian Party nominee will be on the ballot in all fifty states.