While there are those who like the notion of government getting bigger, fatter, and more encompassing of the tasks at hand in every day living situations, Ron Paul represents the smaller yet just as dedicated wing of constituents who argue that less is more. Take for example the push for a national identification system: while in light of the porous borders the United States encourages the movement to a biometric ID system is being championed by the likes of Rudy Giuliani and others, Ron Paul cautions against what could become an Orwellian lack of privacy.
Similarly, those who currently are granted access to social security numbers and also medical information on a routine basis, in the future need to be carefully restricted since only in such a limitation true privacy and a smaller government intrusion can be found. While Ron Paul makes convincing arguments that also call in question the far reaching policies of the Patriot Act, he is not making many friends within the republican ranks.
According to the USA Election Polls website, even though his numbers are improving, he is still a single digit candidate. In the red states he earned a .4% increase from January through August, while in the blue states he increased his base by 1.5%. Yet these numbers are hard to call grounds for even a reasonable hope at the Republican Party nod for the nomination. On the flipside, they might be the catalyst needed to persuade Mr. Paul to run as an independent rather than a republican.
> View the online archive of the latest 2008 presidential polls.
