Ron Paul: They're not laughing at me any more

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) said Sunday that he knows that his 2008 presidential campaign was regarded in many quarters as a joke, but that no one is treating him that way now as he embarks on another bid for the White House.

"During the last campaign I knew what was happening. You know, they mocked me for my foreign policy and they laughed at my monetary policy," Paul said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."

"No more. No more. The people [are] coming over here," Paul said.

Paul said he wasn't too impressed with the rest of the Republican field. "So far, most of them represent the status quo....I think they're shifting a little bit because of political pressure, but who's saying bring all the troops home? Who's saying that we need sound money and we ought to believe in the constitution? Who wants to get rid of the PATRIOT Act? Who believes in property rights? You know, they're going to modify their position but they represent the status quo."

Still, Paul said he sensed that the positions he has been articulating for decades are becoming more widespread among Americans.

"I see a fantastic movement at the grassroots...The whole country is moving. The attitude toward the endless undeclared silly wars that we fight that are bankrupting us. The silliness of the Federal Reserve printing money when we need so-called wealth, the deficits that are uncontrolled," he said.

"So 'mainstream' is now thinking about these things. Before 'mainstream' was deficits don't matter, print money when you need it, endless wars, personal privacy that didn't mean anything," Paul added. "But believe me, 'mainstream' is moving in the direction that I have been talking about for a long time, and therefore nobody knows what the outcome will be in this election."