By Christy Hoppe



Dallas Morning News

DES MOINES, Iowa -- A longtime Texas politician, an Air Force veteran, is running for president and making waves in the early states. Hint: His initials are RP.

But U.S. Rep. Ron Paul can't get the same attention as newcomer Rick Perry.

Paul finished strong in the recent Iowa Republican straw poll, a nose behind U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, but still couldn't get on a Sunday talk show. Nobody speculated about a surge in momentum.

Paul's savvy Internet approach reached so many new Republican voters four years ago that other politicians grabbed the technology, if only to augment their top fundraisers and support from political committees.

And Paul, dubbed the "intellectual godfather" of the Tea Party, has seen many of the principles he's championed for 30 years -- fiscal austerity, limited government, bringing home troops -- repackaged by other GOP candidates as their new ideas.

He is still waiting for his media splash.

When he opened his presidential campaign headquarters recently in Concord, N.H., an estimated 1,000 people showed up. He took the moment to tweak Perry, who has basked in the early spotlight -- and just as quickly drew complaints over his comments about the Federal Reserve and treason.

"Now they have this other governor, I can't remember his name," Paul quipped. "He realizes that talking about the Fed is good, too. But I'll tell you what, he makes me sound like a moderate."

Despite the intensity of his supporters and the adoption of his ideas, Paul is not considered mainstream -- even his own campaign workers say so. But, they argue, he has been right about the economy, the Iraq war and government over-reach, and voters are beginning to see it.

"For his entire political career, he has tried to speak the truth, whether it was popular or not," said campaign spokesman Jesse Benton. "He has a newfound credibility outside of the hardcore constituents because of how he predicted the housing bubble and so many other things."

The straw poll in Ames, Iowa, is a nonbinding affair that's still seen as a test of a candidate's organizational strength in the all-important Iowa caucuses, which kick off the presidential race next year. Paul's 4,671 votes were good for second place -- and more than the victor four years ago, Mitt Romney, got in the 2007 contest.

In 2011, Paul's strategy is to play strong in the early-contest states of Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada -- states with independent voters and caucuses where his intensely loyal following can mount victories in a divided Republican field.

So can he win?

"You never say never in politics because weird things happen, but no," said University of Iowa political science professor Timothy Hagle. "That's the short and brutal answer."

Paul gains traction on fiscal issues, Hagle said. But then he starts talking about his other, more libertarian ideas, such as ending the Federal Reserve, ignoring Iran's nuclear weapons capability and legalizing marijuana, and "he loses steam."

"Sometimes, you've got to tell it like it is, and that's Paul's position," Hagle said. "But telling it like it is doesn't leave you with a lot of friends, or in this case, voters."