Ron Paul: Ready to be commander in chief

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), who is running for the presidency once again at age 75, said on Sunday he's "pretty well-equipped" to be commander in chief despite what critics might say.

"I don't want to run people's lives around the world, I don't want to run the economy. My qualifications are a little bit different," the libertarian Paul said on "Fox News Sunday."

"But compared to others' he went on, "I'm pretty well-equipped, I have a fair amount of experience. I've been in the military. I was in the military five years, that gives me a little bit of experience. I would say I'm pretty well equipped. But to brag that I can run things, I don't do that because that's not what a president is supposed to do."

Paul, who's seeking the Republican presidential nomination, made clear that he believes in far more limited government than any of his rivals or President Barack Obama.

Asked by host Chris Wallace if he would support federal aid for victims of the Mississippi flooding disaster, Paul said he would not.

"The principle of ultimate insurance by government is a moral hazard because people do things they shouldn't do," Paul declared. "I have opposed flood insurance since I went into Congress for 30 years, since 1976. I have a coastal district, so I don't support FEMA [the Federal Emergency Management Agency]. I get a lot more complaints about FEMA than I get support... FEMA is a problem."

Paul rejected the premise of a question by Wallace that government should "enforce social norms and to protect people." Paul, for instance, has refused to condemn drug use.

"If you accept that ... that justifies all the economic intervention [by the federal government], that justifies the intervention in freedom of speech, interference in religious values," Paul said. "To take my philosophy of freedom and the Constitution, property rights and contracts, turn into a cliche and say, 'You're for legalizing marijuana,' that is so grossly distorting my views. I want to legalize freedom of choice, I want to enforce states' rights, I don't like prohibitions."