On a day of change in Egypt, Republican congressman Ron Paul urged conservatives today to rethink America's role as a global leader and repeated his call to save U.S. dollars by ending foreign aid.

"Foreign aid is taking money from poor people in rich countries and giving it to rich people in poor countries," he told thousands of activists gathered at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

The comments from the Texas lawmaker, who is a potential GOP presidential candidate in 2012, came just hours after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down after 30 years in power. Paul charged the U.S. had "propped up" Mubarak, whom he called a "dictator," and wasted billions helping Egypt.

"Some people want to argue and say we have a moral responsibility to spread America's goodness around the world," said Paul, adding that the U.S. should "stay out of the internal affairs of foreign countries when it is none of our business."

President Obama saluted Mubarak today for listening to the Egyptian people's "hunger for change" and stepping aside after weeks of protests. But Obama also made clear that the United States will continue to be Egypt's ally and "provide whatever assistance necessary" in the move toward democracy.

Paul, a libertarian who believes in no government intrusion, drew an enthusiastic following during the 2008 GOP primaries. He set several fundraising records, thanks in part to his use of the Internet. But that financial support didn't translate to winning primaries, and Arizona Sen. John McCain was the GOP's 2008 presidential nominee.

Paul now finds himself in the House GOP majority thanks to his party's 2010 election successes. He is chairman of a House panel that oversees the Fed and is pushing his bill to audit the board, which he said will be the first step to dismantling the nation's central bank.

Paul began his remarks by saluting what he called a "revolution" in the country that was embodied last year by the rise of the Tea Party movement. Supporters of the anti-tax, small-government movement helped elect dozens of House members and several new senators, including Paul's son, Rand, who now represents Kentucky.

CPAC is the largest conservative gathering, held annually since 1973. More than 11,000 activists are attending the event, which ends Saturday with the results of a presidential straw poll. Paul won the straw poll last year.

USA TODAY's coverage of speeches by Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty and John Thune at CPAC can be found by clicking on the links to their names.