MSNBC host coaxes Ron to run

MSNBC’s rocky on-again-off-again love affair with the Paul family took a new turn on Tuesday, with host Dylan Ratigan practically begging Ron Paul to run for president.


At the conclusion of an interview Tuesday afternoon, Ratigan rattled off the names in the Republican presidential field before concluding that Paul was the strongest in the field.

“Before I go, I've got to say you – judging just as an observer... I look at the Republican field [and] see Palin, Bachmann, Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, Donald Trump, I think… there's no way any of them are better than you for the Republican nomination,” Ratigan declared.

“Seriously,” he continued. “I’m not saying your answers are all right. I don't know whether your answers are all right or not. But I do know the way that you frame the debate around the issues that this country faces is the most honest.”

Ratigan then asked Paul if after looking at the rest of the field he feels “an obligation at this point to run for president?”

The Paul family has long been a fascination of the left-leaning network since the Texas congressman’s 2008 run for president. The elder Paul was once a frequent guest of host Rachel Maddow, and the relationship between the network and the Pauls was so strong that now-Sen. Rand Paul agreed to appear of Maddow’s show for one of his first interviews after winning the GOP nomination for Senate in Kentucky.

The interview was a disaster for the younger Paul – his seeming defense of segregation in private businesses may have been intended as an intellectual libertarian argument, but created a political mess – and since then the relationship has been strained.

But on Tuesday, it was all hugs and kisses between Ratigan and the Texas congressman.

After Ratigan’s appeal, Paul thanked the host for “the compliment,” at which points Ratigan again declared his desire to see Paul run.

“I'm going to harass you on this one because we need the debate,” Ratigan said. “Framing of the debate, as you know, is everything and you do that so effectively.”