If unscientific online polls were a determining factor, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas would easily be a top tier candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. But they aren't -- and he isn't.
Despite coming in first place in a post-debate poll on MSNBC and in other online surveys, Paul hovers around two percent or less in surveys conducted by Gallup, Harris, Zogby and other leading polling firms.
At the same time, however, he has a large network of "meet up" groups across the country, heavy traffic on his campaign website and new-found media attention since comments during a Fox News Channel GOP debate this week that appeared to blame U.S. foreign policy for the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The statement, which drew a strong response from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, might have torpedoed the chances of a top-tier candidate, but Paul still came in a close second in an online poll immediately after the debate.
This indicates a large body of supporters, Paul campaign spokesman Jesse Benton said Thursday.
"Ron Paul has more passionate supporters who are more likely to send in text messages and emails into the polls," Benton told Cybercast News Service. "That may skew it, but we're not going to apologize that our supporters are more passionate than Rudy Giuliani's supporters."
Benton said the Paul campaign has not engaged in an organized effort to encourage people to vote in online polls. He also scoffed at accusations from bloggers that Paul supporter were spamming Web sites. "This is not a handful of people. This is a grassfire movement," he said.
Paul, 71, is a 10-term Republican House member and was the 1988 Libertarian Party presidential nominee. He stands apart from the rest of the GOP field, having opposed the war in Iraq from the beginning. He also has called for the immediate abolition of the Internal Revenue Services and other federal programs, declaring himself the "true conservative" in the race because he wants to return the GOP to its non-interventionist roots.
Paul's campaign claims more YouTube subscribers than the campaigns of any other presidential candidates. (A YouTube subscriber is someone who gets automatic email alerts on a topic of their choice when a new video on that topic is posted on the popular video-sharing site.) Also, more Ron Paul videos are posted on YouTube than all but two of the GOP candidates, Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
In another indication of massive online interest, "Ron Paul" is also the top search on Technorati, a blog search engine that says it indexes more than 75 million blogs. On Friday, Ron Paul was at the number one position on Technorati, ahead of the likes of Paris Hilton and American Idol.
Paul's campaign claims more YouTube subscribers than the campaigns of any other presidential candidates. (A YouTube subscriber is someone who gets automatic email alerts on a topic of their choice when a new video on that topic is posted on the popular video-sharing site.) Also, more Ron Paul videos are posted on YouTube than all but two of the GOP candidates, Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
In another indication of massive online interest, "Ron Paul" is also the top search on Technorati, a blog search engine that says it indexes more than 75 million blogs. On Friday, Ron Paul was at the number one position on Technorati, ahead of the likes of Paris Hilton and American Idol.
Ronald Ernest “Ron” Paul (born 20 August 1935) is a 10th-term Congressman, Physician (M.D.), and a 2008 presidential candidate from the U.S. state of Texas, seeking the nomination of the Republican party.
As a Republican, he has represented Texas's 14th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1997, and had previously served as the representative from Texas's 22nd district in 1976 and from 1979 to 1985.
Paul advocates the limited role of government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to monetary policies based on commodity-backed currency. He has earned the nickname "Dr. No" for voting against any bill he believes violates the Constitution. Former Treasury Secretary William Simon is quoted as saying that Paul is the "one exception to the Gang of 535" on Capitol Hill. He has never voted to raise taxes or congressional pay. He has consistently voted against the USA PATRIOT Act, the Military Commissions Act of 2006, and the Iraq War.
Paul has $524,919 on hand, according to his most recent campaign filing, far less than the millions raised by the top-tier candidates, McCain, Romney and Giuliani. At the same time, when compared to the six other second-tier GOP hopefuls, the Texan raised the most money during the first quarter in 14 states, including Florida and Texas, and the second-highest amount in Montana and New Hampshire.
Paul's campaign website has significantly higher traffic than those of the other second-tier candidates, and rivals the hits on the McCain, Giuliani, Romney sites, according to Alexa.com, a site that monitors web traffic.
Paul has come under heavy scrutiny since Tuesday night's debate, when he answered a question about whether his non-interventionist foreign policy view should change after 9/11.
"The reason they attacked us is because we were over there," Paul responded. "We've been bombing Iraq for 10 years."
As a Republican, he has represented Texas's 14th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1997, and had previously served as the representative from Texas's 22nd district in 1976 and from 1979 to 1985.
Paul advocates the limited role of government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to monetary policies based on commodity-backed currency. He has earned the nickname "Dr. No" for voting against any bill he believes violates the Constitution. Former Treasury Secretary William Simon is quoted as saying that Paul is the "one exception to the Gang of 535" on Capitol Hill. He has never voted to raise taxes or congressional pay. He has consistently voted against the USA PATRIOT Act, the Military Commissions Act of 2006, and the Iraq War.
Paul has $524,919 on hand, according to his most recent campaign filing, far less than the millions raised by the top-tier candidates, McCain, Romney and Giuliani. At the same time, when compared to the six other second-tier GOP hopefuls, the Texan raised the most money during the first quarter in 14 states, including Florida and Texas, and the second-highest amount in Montana and New Hampshire.
Paul's campaign website has significantly higher traffic than those of the other second-tier candidates, and rivals the hits on the McCain, Giuliani, Romney sites, according to Alexa.com, a site that monitors web traffic.
Paul has come under heavy scrutiny since Tuesday night's debate, when he answered a question about whether his non-interventionist foreign policy view should change after 9/11.
"The reason they attacked us is because we were over there," Paul responded. "We've been bombing Iraq for 10 years."
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