Tony Fratto, a former White House and Treasury official in the George W. Bush administration, said those answers came across as “just plain weird” and were further proof that Paul is “not very serious.” Of the “audit the fed” movement more generally, Fratto added: “They have absolutely no clue what they’re talking about. Every time they speak they demonstrate their ignorance.”

Others in the world of banking and finance acknowledge that the Paul-driven crusade against the Fed represents serious public discomfort with the central bank — though that doesn’t mean they take Rand Paul seriously as a potential presidential candidate.

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Ron Paul spent decades of his congressional career advocating for greater transparency at the Fed, if not total abolition of the central bank, and bankers recognize that there’s been an abrupt shift in momentum over the past few years. Ron Paul’s Audit the Fed bill started to gain real momentum only in the past few years as Paul neared retirement.

Independent Community Bankers of America President Cam Fine said he takes the legislation “seriously” because there is substance to the concern that the Fed has crossed the line from supervising monetary policy to fiscal policy.

“The ‘audit the Fed’ movement could get serious legs if there is a hiccup at the Fed or if there would be another financial collapse that would be perceived as having been within Fed’s power to prevent,” he said.

One Republican banking lobbyist, who asked to speak anonymously in order to be candid, said that many in the world of Wall Street see Paul as a “fringe guy” in part because “he takes this position on the Fed.”

“I don’t think he’s going to be our next president, but I don’t think it’s going to be because of his position on monetary policy or because of his position on large financial institutions,” the Republican said.

For Paul, the balancing act of charming his father’s fervent supporters while at the same time appealing to the establishment GOP — the kind of people who would not have considered voting for or donating to the Ron Paul — is not a challenge he faces exclusively in the areas of economic or monetary policy.

On a number of other national policy issues, Paul has staked out assertive stances that please big segments of the Republican base, but also prompt unease among party elites: His sharp criticism of Bush- and Obama-approved surveillance tactics are a prime example. So is his apparent willingness to support a government shutdown in order to try and defund the Affordable Care Act.

Iowa Republican Party Chairman A.J. Spiker, an enthusiastic Ron Paul supporter in 2012, said it’s exciting to have a senator with Paul-style views in the mix this time around. But there’s a limit, he said, to what Rand Paul’s fans expect from him in this bout.

“As a whole, Fed policy doesn’t really change, one chairman to the next. It’s all geared around printing and spending,” Spiker sighed. “[The nomination] is an opportunity for Rand and others to talk about monetary policy and how to really have prosperity in this country again."

Even Ron Paul, who predicted concern about the Fed would dominate national debate in the coming months, took a subdued line on the role he expects his son to play in a confirmation struggle. Ron Paul said he and Rand rarely have time to discuss policy and that he couldn’t guess “who’s going to speak about” the Fed in 2016.

But he did express confidence that his son will be able to take whatever incoming fire he faces from “demagogues [who] want to pile on.”

“If he’s unfairly attacked, I don’t like it and it gets me annoyed,” Ron Paul said. “But I was always reassured and I’m sure Rand will be — if you’re always doing the very best to tell the truth and reveal to the people what government is doing to us, not for us, he’ll be OK.”