What is the deal with Ron Paul? Why are college students head over heels for him? We just can't figure it out.
We've seen bumper stickers, fliers and even billboards on I-75 blazoned with his name. But who is he? And what is he doing in this presidential race?
Dr. Ron Paul is an OB/GYN and a congressman representing Texas. But probably what has college students all a-twitter is that he is a Libertarian and ran for president as one in 1988.
On his Web site, he boasts that he has never voted to raise taxes, and he voted against the USA Patriot Act and the Iraq war. He promises to bring the troops home from Iraq. He promises lower taxes. He wants to go back on the gold standard. He's anti-abortion.
For some reason, so many college students seem to love this Libertarian approach. Maybe we've been jaded by Social Security woes, high taxes, the flailing economy and fears of universal health care destroying America in a fiery blaze.
So Paul is using his college-aged supporters to venerate him - 34 percent of Republican students on Facebook support him, according to a recent CBS News article, compared to 3 percent in an ABC news poll.
Let's face it. Paul won't get the Republican nod after the primary election because not enough young people vote (but more should!) and because he's way too radical for most Americans. But we'll be damned if we can't figure out why students love him.
