Paul did a good thing in going to Ferguson, and he handled a politically dangerous trip for a Republican in an adroit fashion. He didn’t make a production out of it; nor was it anonymous. It would have been easy for the event to be clumsy or for him to appear to be grandstanding — or, even worse politically, he could have said the wrong thing and produced another club for the usual suspects on the left to use to beat up Republicans before the midterm elections.

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Instead, Paul showed up, he listened and he said some useful things. He even had the self-assuredness to take a couple reporters into the room with him. Good for him. If Republicans are going to get anywhere with black voters, it’s going to require thousands of sincere overtures just like what Paul did today. Not every Republican has either the self-confidence or the deft touch to do what he did.

This isn’t Paul’s first attempt to extend a hand of friendship to African-Americans. Most notably, he gave a speech at Howard University in April 2013 and also spoke to the National Urban League Conference in July of this year.

I think it was former president Bill Clinton who said, “if you know what you’re talking about, you don’t mind talking.” Well, the initial reports from those who were at the meeting today in Ferguson seem to be impressed with what Paul had to say. Obviously, Paul knows what he is talking about. I hope he passes along some of his talking points to other Republicans.