With the media–both conservative and liberal–losing their patience for Perry, naturally Romney will go up in numbers. Perry’s immediate fall in New Hampshire is an indication that he is not what they expected him to be. But if the Tea Party man is not living up to debate expectations and can’t handle the hard oppositions from the establishment candidate (Romney) or the other Tea-Party candidates (Bachmann and Paul) then what is the electorate’s next move? Will they continue to support Perry’s difficult past or will they consider an alternative? Some may say this is the right time for Palin to come in or Christie. I hope both stay in their respective domain and work within their platforms. The field is full and all ideas are fairly represented. This is the time I think Paul can genuinely offer an alternative to what is going on. His consistency, as Jon Stewart, is fond of affirming, is precisely what is the Achilles heel of many of the candidates. No one can say that Dr. Paul voted this way ten years ago and now has changed his mind. Everyone knows that Paul is who he says he is. I believe this is Paul’s best hope at this stage. He continues to enjoy a restful third place in most local and national polls, but this is not enough to get the country’s attention. If in his third place he receives less questions than all other candidates (save Gary Johnson) it means that the MSM is still not seeing his support as authentic and worthy. One can say that his ideas are not understood by the mainstream media, but the mainstream in many ways make the candidate. A move to second place or a closening of the gap in the numbers and the eventual downfall of Rick Perry will offer Paul a greater voice in the months ahead.<>
Ron Paul’s Hope and Rick Perry’s Downfall
