Ron Paul takes it to the bank

"His campaign has benefited immensely from Republican denial about the Iraq war and the failure of another anti-war Republican to enter the race. For a year it looked like war hero and Nebraska senator Chuck Hagel would jump into the Republican race. But he dithered and finally decided to quit politics altogether, and the small slice of the Republican base that opposes the war gravitated to Paul. Many conservative strategists considered Hagel a real threat and Paul too marginal to mount an anti-war campaign. This week they were proven wrong.

And all of this is happening in the context of a larger crisis in the Republican Party. The party of Gingrich and Reagan is arguably weaker than it has been at any time since the 1970s. Four years ago, when campaigns were tallying up their July through September fundraising totals, George Bush's campaign had raised almost $50m. This year the top four Republicans - Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, and John McCain -raised a combined $35m. Giuliani led the pack with $11m, only a little more than twice as much as Paul. All of this while the top four Democrats - Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, and Bill Richardson - raised $59m."

- rest at http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/david_weigel/2007/10/ron_paul_serious_candidate.html