Ron Paul presidential campaign, 2008

] The campaign projected on February 6 to have secured at least 42 delegates to the national convention. []

econd quarter 2007

On June 30, 2007, in Des Moines, Iowa, Iowans for Tax Relief and the Iowa Christian Alliance invited all Republican presidential candidates except Paul to a presidential candidates forum. Six candidates appeared: Romney, Brownback, Gilmore, Huckabee, Thompson, and Tancredo.]

As of 14 February, 2008, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air force members represent three top contributors to Ron Paul's campaign, respectively. [ [http://ronpaul2008.typepad.com/ron_paul_2008/2008/02/top-three-contr.html Ron Paul 2008: Top Three Contributors to Ron Paul are U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force ] ]

First quarter - 2007

Ron Paul raised more money in New Hampshire in the first quarter of 2007 than presumed Republican front-runners John McCain and Rudy Giuliani. As of March 31, 2007, Paul had raised $639,989 for his campaign nationwide. Of that, he had spent US$115,070, giving him $525,919 cash-on-hand. [cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/money/gop.html |title=Election Center 2008 * Money |publisher=CNN |accessdate=2007-10-01]

econd quarter - 2007

As of the end of the second quarter 2007, Ron Paul had over US$2.4 million in the bank, which was more than John McCain, who had $2 million. He outraised every second-tier candidate, and was fourth in fund-raising among the Republicans, behind the three frontrunners. [cite news |author=ABC Staff |title=Ron Paul Tops McCain in Cash on Hand |url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2007/07/ron-paul-tops-m.html |publisher=ABC News |date=2007-07-06 |accessdate=2007-10-01]

Third quarter - 2007

Paul's campaign raised $5.08 million in the third quarter, increasing 114% over the previous quarter. After he began realtime publication of fundraising totals in September 2007, an end-of-quarter fundraiser raised an unexpected $1.2 million in one week; the projected amount had been $500,000. The campaign outperformed "front-runner" candidates; Paul fundraising, measured in itemized donations (over US$200), exceeded that of Giuliani, Romney, and Thompson in many states. ABC News also reported that Paul received more donations from serving members of the armed services than any other GOP candidate. At the close of the quarter, the campaign reported US$5.4 million on hand, more than John McCain, having spent only 34 percent of the proceeds of the preceding three quarters. [ [http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=3686073&page=2 ABC News: Ron Paul Hauls in $5M! Ron Paul?! ] ]

Fourth quarter - 2007

As of December 31, Ron Paul raised $19,765,974 in the fourth quarter, bringing him to roughly $28 million total. His fourth quarter donations came from 130,000 donors, including over 100,000 new contributors. [cite news | url = http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/01/paul_says_he_ra.html | title = Paul says he raised nearly $20 million in final quarter of 2007 | first = Foon | last = Rhee | publisher = Boston Globe | date = 2008-01-01 | accessdate = 2008-02-07] Ron Paul raised more money than any other Republican candidate in the fourth quarter.cite news| url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/02/news-shocker-ro.html|title=News shocker: Ron Paul was biggest GOP fundraiser last quarter|first=Andrew|last=Malcolm|date=01-02-2008] [Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Broadcast: January 3, 2008] The second highest total raised was by Rudy Giuliani, who got $14.4 million before dropping out of the race. Mitt Romney raised $9 million in the fourth quarter from contributors [cite news| url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/01/31/romney-raises-27-million-in-fourth-quarter/| title=Romney "raises" $27 million in fourth quarter | first =Alexander |last=Marquardt|publisher=CNN|accessdate=2008-01-31|date=2008-01-31] , but lent himself $18 million of his own money, giving him the largest total. According to the campaign, Paul's donations average $100 per donor Compared to Democratic candidates, Paul's fourth quarter total was close to Hillary Clinton's, who raised approximately $20 million. [cite news | url = http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aCilYJ9OUudI&refer=home | title = Paul Rivals Clinton, Raising Almost $20 Million for Campaign | first = Kristin | last = Jensen | date = 2008-01-01 | accessdate = 2008-02-07]

Ron Paul received more money from donors in the military, over $200,000, than any other candidate, Democrat or Republican. [cite web | url = http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/02/military-donors.html | title = Military Donors Back Ron Paul & Obama | first = Jake | last = Tapper | publisher = ABC News | date = 2008-02-04 | accessdate = 2008-02-07]

First quarter - 2008

In the month of March 2008, Ron Paul raised a little over $120,000, though his campaign financial records show him to have $5.1 million cash on hand. Paul's fund raising in 2008 was overall far less than in the previous quarter. [ [http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/04/ron-pauls-fundr.html Ron Paul's fund-raising fades as reality sinks into followers : Top of the Ticket : Los Angeles Times ] ]

econd quarter - 2008

With roughly $4 million cash on hand left, " [Ron Paul's campaign] is exploring the option of using the remaining campaign funds to establish a for-profit publishing company aimed at producing educational materials." [ [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5732113.html 404 Error, No such article Chron.com - Houston Chronicle ] ] The money would eventually be put towards founding Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty.

Internet popularity

Paul has participated in several 2008 GOP debates, the majority of which he won according to the sponsors' own online or text-message phone polls.cite news|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21209617|title=Vote on the Michigan Republican Debate|date=2007-10-09|accessdate=2007-10-11|publisher=MSNBC] After the first debate, ABC News noted that Paul has a "robust online presence." [ [http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=3147940 ABC analysis of "The Ron Paul Effect"] ] "TIME" magazine labels Paul "the new 2.0 candidate" in reference to "his success recruiting supporters through new social media channels". [cite news | last = Tancer | first = Bill | title = Ron Paul for President 2.0? | publisher = TIME | date = September 12, 2007 | url = http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1661290,00.html | accessdate = 2007-10-01 ] The New York Times writes that his campaign has "snowballed on the Internet". According to KDPaine and Partners, Ron Paul's YouTube videos make up half of the top 10 of all candidate videos and he has the largest overall viewership of any candidate. [cite news | url = http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS15012+29-Nov-2007+MW20071129 | title = Study: YouTube Videos From New Hampshire Primary Race Favor Ron Paul, Cast Doubt on Front-Runner Clinton | date = 2007-11-29 | publisher = Reuters ] Jack Cafferty has stated Ron Paul's followers "at any given moment can almost overpower the Internet."The Situation Room. CNN. Broadcast: 2007-12-17.]

Forbes.com noted a disparity between Paul's online support and his performance in the primaries: while Paul supporters responded in droves to text-message and online polls following televised debates, he received 10% of the vote in Iowa and 8% in New Hampshire. David Thorburn, director of the MIT Communications Forum, said that while the Internet is a major source of fundraising, it is not yet able to compete with traditional media for influence in campaigns. Thorburn added that support from "an intellectually elite minority that lives in cyberspace does not translate into support among the general population." [ [http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/01/11/ron-paul-vote-tech-ebiz-cx_ag_0111ronpaul.html Curtains for Ron Paul's Web Crusade] Forbes.com, Jan. 11, 2008.]

Blogger Tommy Christopher noted that critics of Ron Paul's followers accused them of being "cult-like" in an attempt to marginalize Paul's support base. Christopher opined that this was part of a "seemingly willful determination by the mainstream media to completely ignore or glibly dismiss Paul's many successes." [ [http://news.aol.com/political-machine/2008/02/18/media-cant-ron-paul-barack-obama/ Media Can't 'Ron Paul' Barack Obama - Political Machine ] ]

Rankings

Alexa.com data shows [http://ronpaul2008.com/ Paul's campaign website] for his suspended campaign receiving less traffic than than the sites of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, as well as roughly equal traffic to John McCain. [cite web|url=http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/ronpaul2008.com?site0=ronpaul2008.com&site1=barackobama.com&site2=hillaryclinton.com&site3=JohnMcCain.com&size=Large&y=r&z=1&h=400&w=700&c=1&u%5B%5D=ronpaul2008.com&u%5B%5D=barackobama.com&u%5B%5D=hillaryclinton.com&u%5B%5D=JohnMcCain.com&x=2008-05-14T21%3A45%3A34.000Z&check=www.alexa.com&
|title=Alexa info for RonPaul2008.com, compared to other presidential candidates] However, Paul's traffic far exceeded Clinton's, and even Obama's as far back as January, evidence of his intense web-based following. [cite web|url=http://www.alexa.com/] Paul's site receives more traffic than Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney or Fred Thompson. [cite web|url=http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?site0=ronpaul2008.com&site1=mittromney.com&site2=joinrudy2008.com&site3=JohnMcCain.com&site4=Fred2008.com&y=r&z=1&h=400&w=700&range=7d&size=Large&url=ronpaul2008.com|title=Alexa info for RonPaul2008.com, compared to other Republican candidates] Hitwise ranks "Ron Paul" as the seventh most frequent candidate search. [cite web|url=http://www.hitwise.com/political-data-center/key-candidates-searchterms.php|title=Top 10 Presidential Candidate 2008 Search Terms|accessdate=2007-10-10|publisher=Hitwise] In June 2007, Kate Kaye of ClickZNews used Hitwise data to report that Ron Paul had "rocketed from fifth place to first" in their Republican Candidates' Site Traffic Market Share and Rankings report. [cite news |first=Kate |last=Kaye |title=Clinton Surpasses Obama in Site Traffic Race, Paul Rockets to First |url=http://clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3626275 |publisher=ClickZNews |date=2007-06-27 |accessdate=2007-10-01 ] By October 2007 Fred Thompson had pushed Paul out of the first place position. [cite news |first=Kate |last=Kaye |title=Fred Thompson Grabs Top Presidential Site Traffic Seat |url= http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3627289 |publisher=ClickZNews |date=2007-10-12 |accessdate=2008-05-13 ] Since March 2008 Paul's site traffic as measured by Hitwise has trailed that of McCain, Clinton, and Obama. [cite web|url=http://techpresident.personaldemocracy.com/scrape_plot/hitwise|title=Weekly traffic share, via Hitwise] The SIPP index, a site that claims to track how candidates connect with voters, had Ron Paul ranked #3 out of all he candidates in the 2008 primary when he dropped his bid.Fact|date=June 2008

ocial networking

In addition to his search popularity, Ron Paul has become popular on a variety of social networking websites. On Jan. 30, 2008, Paul had over 131,000 "friends" on MySpace, [cite web | author=Ron Paul 2008 | authorlink =Ron Paul | title =MySpace.com - Ron Paul 2008 | work =MySpace | url =http://www.myspace.com/ronpaul2008 | accessdate = 2008-01-30 ] and was the Republican winner of the MySpace Presidential Primary in January 2008, with 37% of the votes. [cite web | author=Mike Shields | title =Obama, Paul Win MySpace Primary | url =http://www.adweek.com/aw/iq_interactive/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003691224 | publisher= AdWeek |date=2008-01-03 | accessdate = 2008-01-03 ] He also has a presence on Facebook, with over 58,000 people in a campaign-related group as of July 22, 2008. [cite web | title =Congressman Ron Paul for President 2008 | work =Facebook | url =http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2229718737 | accessdate =2008-07-22] As of January 30, 2008, he received 10 percent of the votes in Facebook's Elections 2008 presidential poll, placing him first among Republicans and second among all candidates, behind Barack Obama (at 25%), but ahead of Hillary Clinton at 9%.cite web | title =Facebook Election '08 | work =Facebook | url =http://apps.facebook.com/elections/ | accessdate =2008-01-30]

Paul claims the most YouTube views of all Republican candidates, over 6.8 million, [cite web|url=http://www.techpresident.com/youtube|title=YouTube stats|publisher=Tech President] . Paul's YouTube channel is among the Top 40 most subscribed of all time, achieving 40,000 subscribers in December 2007. [cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=RonPaul2008dotcom|title=Ron Paul 2008|publisher=YouTube|accessdate=2007-09-27] [cite news|url=http://ronpaul2008.typepad.com/ron_paul_2008/2007/10/press-release-3.html|title=Press Release: 30,000 YouTube Subscribers|publisher=Ron Paul 2008|date=2007-10-09|accessdate=2007-10-09] The Weekly Standard on December 10, 2007, reported: "To give an idea of Paul's viral velocity, if you hit “Rudy Giuliani” or “Mitt Romney” into YouTube's search engine, you'll turn up about 3,700 hits apiece. Do the same with “Ron Paul”, and you'll be wading through 63,000 videos."cite news | url = http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/432dygie.asp | title = Sing a Song of Ron Paul | first = Matt | last = Labash | publisher = The Weekly Standard | date = 2007-12-10 | accessdate = 2008-02-02] The [http://www.livfilms.com/?cat=6 Ron Paul Girl] is an internet video not originally generated from the campaign, but which has amounted to hundreds of thousands of viewingswww.livfilms.com [http://www.livfilms.com/?cat=6] ] and is thought to have contributed materially to internet fund-raising. Also, many "World of Warcraft" players have named themselves after Ron Paul and staged an in-game support march.cite web | title = Ron Paul wins WoW's presidential naming race | last = Orland | first= Kyle | url=http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/02/ron-paul-wins-wows-presidential-naming-race/ | publisher = Joystiq | accessdate = 2008-01-04]

As of January 30, 2008, Ron Paul has the largest distributed grassroots organization on Meetup.com of all candidates, with almost 105,000 members in 1,600 Meetup groups, that have collectively planned and held nearly 31,000 offline events to rally support (and raise money) for their candidate. [cite web|url=http://blog.compete.com/2007/12/19/presidential-candidates-facetime-ron-paul-mike-huckabee-john-edwards-hillary-clinton/|title=Candidate FaceTime in November: Meetup.com is Ron Paul’s Secret Weapon|accessdate=2007-12-25] [http://www.meetup.com/topics/polact/cand/pres/ Meetup.com] ] In comparison, Barack Obama — who has the second largest Meetup organization among active candidates — has close to 5,000 members among 82 Meetup groups.

Summed up by James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times, "Paulites tend to be tech-savvy, tired of traditional politics and suspicious of their government and the mainstream media. But after that, they defy categories... [consisting of] Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, and Constitution Party followers uniting behind some or all of the Paul libertarian agenda -- ending the war in Iraq, abolishing gun control laws, legalizing marijuana and dismantling big hunks of the U.S. government, especially the IRS and Federal Reserve system."

Jack Cafferty has observed that Ron Paul's grassroots network is one "politicians dream about" and that no other candidate running has a base as dedicated or as vocal as Paul's. Ron Paul has also earned the attention of many sympathizers outside of the United States. [cite news | last =Miller | first =T.R. | title =Ron Paul earns the world’s attention | work =The Spin Factor |date=2007-08-20 | url =http://thespinfactor.com/thetruth/2007/08/20/ron-paul-earns-the-worlds-attention/ | accessdate =2007-08-22] [cite news | last =Wheaton | first =Sarah | title =Ils Aiment Ron Paul | work =The Caucus | publisher =The New York Times |date=2007-08-13 | url =http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/13/ils-aiment-ron-paul/ | accessdate =2007-08-22]

pamming

In November 2007, the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Spam Data Mining for Law Enforcement Applications project examined a large amount of spam supporting Paul's candidacy. Gary Warner, UAB's director of computer forensics, called the spamming "a criminal act in support of a campaign," but stated that he does not believe the campaign itself is in any way responsible. Paul's spokesman, Jesse Benton, said in an email to "Wired" magazine calling the spamming the work of "a well-intentioned yet misguided supporter or someone with bad intentions trying to embarrass the campaign." [http://www.wired.com/politics/security/news/2007/10/paul_bot 'Criminal' Botnet Stumps for Ron Paul, Researchers Allege ] ] The spamming resulted in the removal of at least one Ron Paul video from YouTube, according to anti-phishing researcher Chris Barton of McAfee. [ [http://www.avertlabs.com/research/blog/index.php/2007/10/29/2008-us-election-campaign-spam/ Computer Security Research - McAfee Avert Labs Blog ] ]

The "Wired" article claims that the finding is "significant" because of Paul's popularity in online polls, which "Wired" says does not reflect offline polling, and suggests technically sophisticated Paul supporters may have been "manipulating" polls.

Earlier, the prominent conservative blog RedState [http://www.redstate.com/blogs/leon_h_wolf/2007/oct/22/attention_ron_paul_supporters_life_is_really_not_fair barred] users with accounts less than six months old from posting messages supporting Paul. This was due to a torrent of pro-Paul comment spam. Other blogs at least temporarily shut down their online polls due to concerns the results may have been stacked by Paul supporters.

Grassroots campaign efforts

Ron Paul Revolution

Paul's candidacy draws a significant degree of support from grassroots movements, and supporters have worked independently of the official campaign or the GOP to raise Paul's public profile as well as record breaking campaign donations. A number of supporters have described these efforts as the "Ron Paul Revolution," an allusion to the American Revolution [cite news | url = http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=42059 | title = The American Revolution vs. The Ron Paul Revolution | first = Szandor | last = Blestman | date=2007-11-04 | accessdate = 2008-01-21] that frequently appears on placards and t-shirts at rallies [cite news | url = http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1678661,00.html | title = The Ron Paul Revolution | publisher = Time | date = 2007-11-01 | first = Joel | last = Stein | accessdate = 2008-01-21] [cite news | url = http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/18/opinion/main3628574.shtml | title = The Real Ron Paul Revolution | work = The Nation. | publisher = CBS News | first = John | last = Nichols | date = 2007-12-18 | accessdate = 2008-01-21] and serves as a slogan that the official campaign has adopted. Supporters use the letters "EVOL" reversed to spell "love" backward to represent peace and hope. [cite news | url = http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/09/01/a_love_revolution_goldwater_style/ | title = A love revolution, Goldwater-style | publisher = Boston Globe | first = Cathy | last = Young | date = 2007-09-01 | accessdate=2008-01-21] [cite web | url = http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0712/18/gb.01.html | title = Transcripts - Glenn Beck | date = 2007-12-18 | accessdate = 2008-01-21]

Money bombs

In early October 2007, a website was set up to raise $1 million per week independently for Ron Paul's campaign by having individuals pledge "en masse" the same amount (per donor) on the same day each week. News media began referring to this effort as a "money bomb". By mid-October, several other "money bomb" fund raising dates, all unaffiliated with the actual Ron Paul campaign, had caused fund raising spikes of hundreds of thousands of dollars each.. On average, over 1500 people donated per hour. [cite web|title=Ron Paul's Nov 5 Snapshot|url=http://paulcash.slact.net/November-5th|date=2007-11-05|accessdate=2007-11-05]

In late October, a grassroots website called "This November 5th" [cite news|title=This November 5th|url=http://www.thisnovember5th.com|publisher=This November 5th|date=2007-11-05|accessdate=2007-11-05] was launched, requesting pledges for the Paul campaign on November 5, the same day as Guy Fawkes Day. They collected over 18,000 e-mail addresses.

On November 5, 2007, the campaign raised over $4.3 million. [cite news|title=Ron Paul raises more than $4.2 million #3|url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071106/ap_po/paul_fundraising|publisher=JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press Writer|date=2007-11-05|accessdate=2007-11-05] That amount is the largest amount collected on a single day by any Republican candidate, [cite web|url=http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/11/understanding_pauls_haul.html|title=Understanding Paul's Paul|accessdate=2007-12-23] [Citation | last =Kirkpatrick | first =David D. | title =Candidate's Pleased to Remember This Fifth of November | newspaper =New York Times | date =2007-11-05 | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/us/politics/06paul.html?_r=1&oref=slogin] and the record for largest amount of on-line fund raising in a single day ever in U.S. history. [ [http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2007/11/ron-paul-says-h.html Ron Paul says he's broken one-day online fundraising record - On Politics - USATODAY.com ] ] Paul eclipsed his overall third-quarter fund-raising total around 2:30 p.m. EST.

Paul's December campaign contributions rose to over $7.1 million and the Q4 campaign contributions rose to over $17 million as a result of this push. The campaign website displayed a novel real-time display of the funds raised and the names of donors. [Citation | last =Seelye | first =Katharine Q. | last2 =Wayne | first2 =Leslie | title =The Web Takes Ron Paul for a Ride | newspaper =New York Times | date =2007-11-11 | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/us/politics/11paul.html] Smaller fund raising money bombs continued throughout November and early December.

A December 16, 2007, money bomb on the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party broke the campaign's previous record, [ [http://www.ronpaulgraphs.com/dec_16_vs_nov_5_total.html Total Raised: Dec 16th vs. Nov 5th ] ] raising nearly $2 million more than the November 5 event, bringing in over US$6 million in the largest single day of fund raising, on-line or not, in U.S. presidential campaign history. [cite news|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/18/america/camp.php|title=Ron Paul, a Republican outsider, sets fund-raising record|author=Associated Press|date=2007-12-18|accessdate=2007-12-18|work=International Herald Tribune] During the last minutes of the drive, the server refused to accept contributions due to an overload of donations, as about 100 contributors per minute donated to the campaign; more than an additional $100,000 were donated within the hour past midnight. [Citation | title =Ron Paul collects more than $6 million in a single day | newspaper =Los Angeles Times
date =2007-12-17 | url = http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-paul17dec17,1,7570032.story?coll=la-politics-campaign] [Citation| title =Paul Raises $6 Million in 24-Hour Effort | publisher=Associated Press | date =2007-12-17 | url = http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hyQLduiFMFTNmeUdgpf5cMvLi6awD8TJ04TG0] [Citation | last =Hodgin | first =Rick C. | title =Ron Paul hauls in $6 million in one day via Internet | newspaper =tgdaily | date =2007-12-17 | url = http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/35295/127/]

February 1, 2008, marked the 51st anniversary of Carol and Ron Paul's marriage. Supporters raised over $1 million in the 24-hour period for the campaign [http://ronpaulgraphs.com/feb_1_total.html] as an "anniversary gift," making the it the fourth largest campaign donation day to date. [ [http://ronpaulgraphs.com/best_days.html Best Days ] ]

Ron Paul Blimp

The Ron Paul Blimp was an aerial billboard launched in December, 2007 with considerable publicity. It was emblazoned on one side with "Who is Ron Paul? Google Ron Paul" and, on the other, "Ron Paul Revolution." [cite news | url = http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8TJ04TG0&show_article=1 | title = Paul Raises $6 Million in 24-Hour Effort | publisher = Breitbart | date = 2007-12-17 | accessdate = 2008-06-12] At convert|200|ft|m long, the blimp was longer than the Goodyear Blimp.cite web | url = http://www.discoverec.org/pdf/PressRelease/RonPaulBlimpToLaunchDec10.pdf | title = Ron Paul Blimp To Launch Dec. 10 from Elizabeth City, N.C. | date = 2007-12-06 | accessdate = 2008-03-30|format=PDF] With a stated cost of $400,000 per month, supporters raised enough money to keep the blimp afloat for about six weeks. Piloted by Dick Schwenker,cite news|url=http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7744115|title=Blimp promotes unconventional candidate|author=Kuenzie, Jack|publisher=WIS News 10|date=2008-01-18|accessdate=2008-02-04] it flew over Walt Disney World for several days,cite news|url=http://www.magicalmountain.net/WDWNewsDetail.asp?NewsID=1766|title=Ron Paul Blimp Buzzes Disney World|date=2007-01-03|accessdate=2008-02-04|work=Magical Mountain] as well as the January 10 presidential debate in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.cite news|url=http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/2008/01/11/republican-ron-paul-flies-high-above-debate/|title=Republican Ron Paul flies high above debate|name=Sullivan, Andy|publisher=Reuters|date=2007-01-11|accessdate=2008-02-04] [ [http://hamptonroads.com/2008/01/wacko-idea%3F-ron-paul-blimp-takes-politics-new-heights Wacko idea? Ron Paul blimp takes politics to new heights HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com ] ] [ [http://www.bostonherald.com/news/2008/view.bg?articleid=1050783 Supporters of Ron Paul launch blimp in NC - BostonHerald.com ] ] [ [http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2007/12/paul_blimp Ron Paul Supporters Hack Campaign Finance Law to Send Blimp Aloft ] ]

The blimp was financed by a for-profit company (Liberty Political Advertising, L.L.C.), rather than the campaign itself.cite web|url=http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/graham/071221|title=Man of the year: Trevor Lyman|author=Graham, Alan|date=2007-12-21|accessdate=2008-02-04|publisher=Renew America] cite news|url=http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119672794515312455-_LUdo_s5AxFvcxTDAJ7SWQNqn0Q_20080102.html|title=How Paul Could Change Race: Republican Candidate Is Poised to Win Role as Spoiler|author=Davis, Susan|date=2007-12-04|accessdate=2008-02-04] This structure was created to permit donors to escape federal limits of $2,300 per person on campaign donations.cite news|url=http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080108/NEWS/801080323/1002/NEWS|title=Look up there! It's Ron Paul's blimp|author=Crabbe, Nathan|work=Gainesville Sun|date=2008-01-08|accessdate=2008-02-04] The FEC has not commented on the validity of such a finance structure.

A supporter named Elizabeth Blane also created a convert|20|ft|m|sing=on "micro-blimp" emblazoned with the same logos as the full sized blimp, which flew over the San Diego area. [ [ Attack Of The Ron Paul Micro-Blimps! " Attack Of The Ron Paul Micro-Blimps!"] , accessed 11 January 2008.] [ [http://www.nolanchart.com/article703.html "'O Say, Can You See?' A Ron Paul Blimpette Rises Over San Diego,"] accessed 11 January 2008.]

Other efforts

An avid Ron Paul supporter and businessman, Joby Weeks, recently refurbished an old stretch limousine into the world's longest limo, the Ron Paul Limo, which is 55 feet long (17 m). [ [http://www.ronpaullimo.com/ Join the Party Today — Ron Paul Limo ] ] The limousine has been touring high-traffic cities across the country, and it has been personally signed by Ron Paul on one side.

A Nevada brothel owner recently promised to take up a collection from his customers to back Paul's bid. [ [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/26/politics/main3539640.shtml Nevada Brothel Owner Backs Ron Paul, BunnyRanch Proprietor Is Asking Customers To Donate Cash To Long-Shot GOP Hopeful - CBS News ] ]

Paul supporters have created a number of songs in support of Ron Paul. Steve Dore, for example, produced a CD called "Early Songs of the Great Ron Paul Revolution," the profits from which were donated to Paul's campaign.

Artists in Texas and other states created homemade signs [ [http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/ron-pauls-graphics-revolution/ Ron Paul's Graphics Revolution] ] in support of Paul's candidacy.

Dean Van Gundy in Grand Junction, Colorado paid for a bus full of "campaigners" to sit in a prominent location, hoping to pick up more supporters. [ [http://www.gjsentinel.com/search/content/news/stories/2008/01/26/012608_6B_Ron_Paul_meet.html Paul backer hopes campaign bus sign picks up supporters ] ]

Some Paul supporters announced plans to build a cooperative community populated solely by those philosophically aligned with Paul dubbed "Paulville" on a plot near Dell City, Texas, in a sparsely populated area between San Angelo and El Paso. Paul himself was not in favor of the idea, stating "I don't see that as a solution, but it can't hurt anything either". [ [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/12/politics/politico/thecrypt/main4087724.shtml] Paulville? Count Ron Paul Out] ]

Supporters of Ron Paul are planning an event in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, at the same time the 2008 Republican National Convention will be taking place in that city. [ [http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/06/10/1129290.aspx Ron Paul's own convention] ]

2008 GOP Presidential Debates

econd Quarter 2007

On May 3 2007, Ron Paul participated in a 90-minute presidential debate at the Reagan Presidential Library, alongside nine other Republican candidates. In online voting hosted by MSNBC and The Politico, Paul was ranked first for "Best one liner," "Who stood out from the pack", "Most convincing debater", and "Who showed the most leadership qualities?" [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18436681/ Vote on the California Republican debate] ] and was winning the "rating and comparing candidates" question. [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18421356/ Interactive rate the candidates] ]

Paul participated in the FOX News Channel First-in-the-South Republican Party Presidential Candidates Debate at the University of South Carolina on May 15, alongside nine other Republican candidates. In a phone text message based vote among viewers after the debate, Paul finished second, winning 25% of the votes. [ [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,272493,00.html You Decide: Viewers Say Who Won Tuesday Night's GOP Presidential Debate] ]

During the debate, Congressman Paul commented that America's history of interventionism in the Middle East has led to an unpopular view of the U.S. in Middle Eastern countries, and argued that the CIA's removal of Iranian leader Mohammed Mosaddeq in Operation Ajax, the Iraq war and the bombing of Iraq in the 1990s had led to increasing anti-American sentiment in the Middle East and promoted terrorism. When the moderator asked if Paul was suggesting that the US had "invited" the 9/11 attacks, Paul argued with fellow candidate Rudy Giuliani, who responded to Paul's suggestion that the U.S. pay attention to the underlying causes of terrorism by saying "I don't think I've heard that before, and I've heard some pretty absurd explanations for September 11. And I would ask the congressman to withdraw that comment and tell us that he didn't really mean that." Paul responded that terrorists were the result of "blowback" from poor foreign policy, and that they "don't come here to attack us because we're rich and we're free, they come and attack us because we're over there." [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7d_e9lrcZ8 YouTube - Ron Paul Courageously Speaks the Truth ] ] Though the confrontation was noted in the media and cast as a political win for Giuliani, Paul's remarks were debated. Conservative pundits including Sean Hannity and Michael Steele criticized them; former CIA Bin Laden Issue Station head Michael Scheuer endorsed them as "obvious" and an "immense service to all Americans"; and commentator Andrew Sullivan agreed with Paul, citing his comments as evidence that he was the only GOP candidate "serious about national security." Paul condemned Giuliani's attack in a press release, later demanding an apology on CNN's "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer. [cite web |url= http://www.amconmag.com/2007/2007_06_18/cover.html|title= Lone Star|accessdate= 2007-06-24|author= Brendan Dougherty, Michael|date=2007-06-18|publisher= "The American Conservative"] [ [http://www.allronpaul.com/2007/05/transcript-ron-paul-and-sean-hannity.html Transcript] : [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEZO7MPxJIs Ron Paul on Hannity & Colmes after the May 15 debate] ] [cite news | last =Buchanan | first =Pat | authorlink=Pat Buchanan | title =But Who Was Right – Rudy or Ron? | work =Townhall.com |date=2007-05-18 | url =http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/PatrickJBuchanan/2007/05/18/but_who_was_right_--_rudy_or_ron | accessdate =2007-08-22] [cite news | last =Horton | first =Scott | authorlink =Scott Horton | title =Fmr. Chief of CIA Osama Unit: Why They Attack Us | work =Antiwar.com |date=2007-05-22 | url =http://www.antiwar.com/blog/2007/05/22/fmr-chief-of-cia-osama-unit-why-they-attack-us/ | accessdate =2007-07-22 ] [cite news | last =Sullivan | first =Andrew | authorlink =Andrew Sullivan | title =Blowback | work =The Atlantic Monthly |date=2007-05-16 | url =http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2007/05/blowback.html | accessdate =2007-08-22]

In the debate, Paul and McCain refused to endorse torture, with Paul labelling the phrase "enhanced interrogation techniques" as "Orwellian". [cite news |first=Rosa |last=Brooks |title=The GOP's torture enthusiasts |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/sunday/la-oe-brooks18may18,0,2989659.column?coll=la-util-opinion-sunday |publisher=LA Times |date=2007-05-18 |accessdate=2007-10-01] [cite news |author=OC Register Staff Editorial |title=Between the lines at the GOP debate |url=http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/opinion/homepage/article_1698827.php |publisher=OC Register |date=2007-05-18 |accessdate=2007-10-01]

Ron Paul participated in the CNN Republican debate in New Hampshire on June 5. Paul argued against a preemptive military policy in favor of going "back to traditions and our Constitution" and " [defending] our liberties and [defending] our rights.". He was given fewer than six minutes of time, less than Mitt Romney, John McCain, or Rudy Giuliani. [cite news |first=John |last=King |title= GOP debaters keep distance from Bush |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/06/06/nh.gop.debate/index.html |publisher= |date=2007-06-07 |accessdate=2007-10-09] cite news | url = http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/06/05/paul-us-has-rejected-just-war-theory-of-christianity/ | title = Paul: U.S. has rejected ‘Just War’ theory of Christianity | publisher = "CNN Political Ticker" |date=2007-06-05 | accessdate = 2007-06-07] [cite news |first=John |last=Kifner |title=Good Form Once, but Now a Dark Horse |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/08/us/politics/08thompson.html?_r=1&oref=slogin |publisher=New York Times |date=2007-06-08 |accessdate=2007-10-09] [ [http://chrisdodd.com/node/1382 Graph of June 5 debate candidate airtime at Chris Dodd website] ]

Third Quarter 2007

Paul participated in ABC News's Republican presidential debate at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa on August 5. [cite web | title = GOP Hopefully Generally Agree on Iraq |last = ABCnews.com | authorlink = ABC News | publisher = ABCnews.com | date = 2007-08-05 | url = http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=3448997] "Time" Magazine's Mark Halperin evaluated Paul's performance "crowd-pleasing," and added, "if the Republicans nominated a candidate based on who most moved the applause meter, Paul would be giving his acceptance speech next summer." Paul was the favorite of an on-line poll at ABCNews.com, winning 63 percent of votes.cite web | last = ABCnews.com | authorlink = ABC News | title = Vote: Who Won the Republican Debate? | publisher = ABCnews.com |date=2007-08-05 | url = http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Decision2008/popup?id=3436820 | accessdate = 2007-08-06]

Paul participated in the Fox News debate at the University of New Hampshire on September 5. Paul and Mike Huckabee argued over the war in Iraq, with Paul attributing Republican losses in the 2006 elections to the unpopular war. Paul won a Fox-sponsored text-messaging poll with 33 percent of votes.cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295969,00.html|title=You Decide: Results of "Hannity & Colmes" Text Messaging Poll|date=2007-09-05|accessdate=2007-09-27|author=Hannity, Sean, and Colmes, Alan|work=Hannity & Colmes|publisher=Fox News]

On September 17, Paul participated in the GOP "Values Voters' Presidential Debate" in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, alongside six other candidates --- John H. Cox, Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, Alan Keyes, and Tom Tancredo. Paul finished second in an official post-debate delegate straw poll, trailing Mike Huckabee's 63% showing with 13% of the vote. [ [http://www.valuesvoterdebate.com/ official site, no transcript or video provided] ]

Paul participated in a September 27 debate hosted by PBS television at Morgan State University with a panel exclusively of journalists of color. The organizers put empty podiums on the stage in the names of the absent candidates. Answering questions were Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee, Alan Keyes, Ron Paul, Duncan Hunter, and Tom Tancredo. [cite web |title=Tavis Smiley All American Presidential Forums |url=http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/special/forums/?campaign=pbshomefeatures_2_allamericanpresidentialforums_2007-09-26 |publisher=PBS|accessdate=2007-10-09]

Fourth Quarter 2007

Paul participated in an October 9 debate sponsored by CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, and the University of Michigan-Dearborn. The debate aired on MSNBC at 9 pm ET. Paul fielded several questions relating to economic issues, warning that "as long as we live beyond our means, we are destined to live beneath our means". [cite web |title=RON PAUL CNBC DEBATE 10-09-07 |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHDiMz5g3QU |publisher=YouTube |date=2007-10-09 |accessdate=2007-10-09] As in previous debates, he also addressed monetary theory.

The Republican Jewish Coalition candidates' forum on October 16, 2007, did not invite Ron Paul due to "time only for leading candidates" and his "record of consistently voting against assistance to Israel and his criticisms of the pro-Israel lobby", according to sources close to the RJC. [cite news|author=JTA Staff |title=Paul not welcome at RJC event|url=http://jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/104383.html |publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency|date=2007-09-26 |accessdate=2007-10-10]

Paul appeared in a 90-minute October 21 debate in Orlando, Florida sponsored by FOX News [ [http://youtube.com/watch?v=MT0qpjm6NT8 YouTube - Sean Hannity is ate up... and Ron Paul wins again ] ] , winning an informal "cell phone” vote [ [http://www.usadaily.com/article.cfm?articleID=132679 GOP Debate: Fox Viewers Say Ron Paul Won ] ] , but drawing jeers during the debate for advocating non-interventionist foreign policy. [ [http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/10/21/423074.aspx Paul booed twice - The Body Odd - msnbc.com ] ] Alan Colmes stated that Paul drew the most spirited reaction, both positive and negative.Fact|date=January 2008

Paul participated in the November 28 Republican CNN-Youtube Presidential Debate in St. Petersburg, Florida alongside seven other candidates. He obtained less than 8 minutes of time, and wasn't addressed with a question until the second half hour. Paul debated John McCain on the merits of isolationism versus non-intervention. Paul won an CNN online "scorecard" with 51% of the vote; two of three CNN analysts stated that he had a "disappointing" performance, but the other argued that Paul "came off very direct and clear" and "stood out the most". [cite news |first=Aaron |last=Sharockman |title=YouTube debate gets full GOP slate|url=http://www.sptimes.com/2007/10/27/Southpinellas/YouTube_debate_gets_f.shtml |publisher=St. Petersburg Times |date=2007-10-27 |accessdate=2007-11-21] [ [http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/11/28/486055.aspx Looking at the clock (1st half) - The Body Odd - msnbc.com ] ] [ [http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/debates/scorecard/youtube.debate.112807/results.html Election Center 2008 - Election & Politics News from CNN.com ] ] [cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/28/politics/main3550190_page2.shtml|title=GOP Hopefuls Spar Over Immigration|accessdate=2007-12-23]

Paul participated in the December 9 GOP debate hosted by Spanish-speaking television network Univision at the University of Miami, alongside seven other candidates. [cite news| last=Reinhard| first=Beth | title=GOP's top tier to join Spanish debate | url=http://www.miamiherald.com/campaign08/story/301277.html cite web |url= http://www.miamiherald.com/campaign08/story/301277.html|title= GOP's top tier to join Spanish debate|accessdate=2007-11-15 |author= Reinhard, Beth|date=2007-11-09|publisher= "The Miami Herald"] .

Sponsored by The Des Moines Register newspaper and Iowa Public Television, the December 12 debate among nine Republican candidates was broadcast live on the state-wide television network and re-broadcast later. [cite news| title=Candidates accept invitation to Register debate | publisher=The Des Moines Register |date=2007-11-15 | url=http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071115/NEWS09/711150401/1001/NEWS ] It was available to all PBS stations, and was the last debate before the Iowa caucuses, January 3, 2008.

First Quarter 2008

Paul participated in the ABC/WMUR-TV/Facebook Republican debate at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire on January 5 2008. Charles Gibson moderated. [ [http://www1.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6517150.html Ron Paul to Participate in ABC News Debate - 1/4/2008 5:32:00 PM - Broadcasting & Cable ] ]

Fox News excluded Paul and Duncan Hunter from a January 6 New Hampshire forum, sparking numerous protests from Paul supporters. The Paul campaign was not given a reason, and the New Hampshire Republican Party withdrew their sponsorship. Instead of attending, Paul held his own town hall event, where voters were allowed to ask him questions. It was broadcast live on local New Hampshire television and streamed online. [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5432330.html] Jay Leno invited Paul as a "Tonight Show" guest January 7 specifically because he said he thought Paul's exclusion was "unfair." ["The Tonight Show with Jay Leno". Broadcast: January 7, 2008.] [ [http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=4100382&page=1 ABC News: On Primary Eve, Paul Does Leno ] ]

[http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004109251_apforumsponsor05.html NH GOP Drops Out As Fox Forum Partner] The Seattle Times, January 5, 2008.] [ [http://www.boston.com/news/local/politics/primarysource/2007/12/paul_fox_news_i.html Paul: Fox News is 'scared of me' - James Pindell - The Primary Source - Boston.com ] ] cite news | url = http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/31/arts/TV-Debate-Limits.php | title = ABC, Fox News cutting low-polling presidential candidates out of debates | publisher = International Herald Tribune | date = 2007-12-31 | accessdate = 2008-02-04]

Fox News hosted a January 10 debate at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in South Carolina. Ron Paul participated despite his exclusion from the Fox News debate. Paul declined to be interviewed after the debate by Fox News anchors Hannity and Colmes, citing other commitments.

MSNBC hosted a two-hour debate at Florida Atlantic University on January 24, the last before the Florida Primaries. [cite web | url = http://beforeyouvote.org/docs/FloridaRepublicanDateSet_120707.pdf | title = Decision 2008 - Florida | accessdate = 2008-03-07|format=PDF] Ron Paul took part, and a text message poll asking viewers who they believed had won showed Romney in first with 41% and Paul in second at 40%. On January 30, Paul was one of four candidates in a debate hosted by "Los Angeles Times", "The Politico" and CNN in Simi Valley, California, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. [cite news | url = http://www.latimes.com/services/newspaper/mediacenter/releases/la-mediacenter-2007-0625,0,6967477.story?coll=la-mediacenter-releases | title = Reagan Library Partners with CNN, the Los Angeles Times and Politico.com for Final GOP Presidential Debate January 30, 2008 | publisher = Los Angeles Times | date = 2007-06-25 | accessdate = 2008-01-06]

On February 2, MTV and MySpace hosted a two-party debate broadcast live from New York City: "Closing Arguments: A Presidential Super Dialogue." Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee were the only Republicans to attend. [ [http://www.myspace.com/election2008 MySpace.com - Hillary Clinton & Mike Huckabee - MySpace Election 2008 Closing Arguments with United States Presidential Candidates ] ]

Endorsements

Ron Paul had the official endorsement of many in the 2008 nomination race, including academics, actors, politicians, and political organizations and pundits.

Post-campaign activities

Paul was not invited to speak at the September 1-4 2008 Republican National Convention and instead hosted the "Rally for the Republic" with Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty and 10,000 supporters. This protest convention on September 2 was held a few miles from the convention center at the Minneapolis Target Center in direct contrast to the Republican National Convention. [cite news|author=Devin, Henry|title=Ron Paul, supporters rally at Target Center|url=http://www.mndaily.com/2008/09/03/ron-paul-supporters-rally-target-center|date=September 3, 2008|publisher=The Minnesota Daily|accessdate=2008-09-02] Paul received 15 delegate votes (0.63%) for the Republican nomination, falling far short of McCain's 2,343 (98.45%), which cinched him the nomination.

On September 5, 2008, the Constitution Party of Montana removed Chuck Baldwin from their presidential ticket, replacing him with Ron Paul for president and Michael Peroutka for vice president.Ballot Access News: [http://www.ballot-access.org/2008/09/05/montana-constitution-party-submits-presidential-electors-pledged-to-ron-paul-and-michael-peroutka/ "Montana Constitution Party Submits Presidential Electors Pledged to Ron Paul and Michael Peroutka".] ] Paul made an announcement stating that he "was aware that the party planned to do this, and has said that as long as he can remain passive and silent about the development, and as long as he need not sign any declaration of candidacy, that he does not object."However, Paul requested on September 11 that Montana take his name off the ballotcite web |author = Gouras, Matt | title = Ron Paul Wants Off Montana Ballot | publisher = Associated Press | date = 2008-09-11 | url = http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/ron_paul_wants_off_montana_ballot/5514/ | accessdate = 2008-09-16 | quote = Republican Ron Paul does not want to be on the Montana ballot as the Constitution Party presidential candidate, but state election officials said Thursday it may be too late to remove his name. [..] Paul also said the national Constitution Party candidate, Chuck Baldwin, should be on the ballot instead. ] , stating that that he did not "seek nor consent" to the Montana Constitution Party's nomination. He also suggested the Party list official Constitution Party nominee Baldwin on the Montana ballot instead. Five days later the Montana Secretary of State denied Paul's request for withdrawalcite web |author = Winger, Richard | title = Montana Verifies That Ron Paul Will Remain on Ballot | publisher = Ballot Access News | date = 2008-09-15 | url = http://www.ballot-access.org/2008/09/15/montana-verifies-that-ron-paul-will-remain-on-ballot/ | accessdate = 2008-09-16 | quote = The Montana Secretary of State has told Ron Paul that his request to be removed from the ballot arrived too late] , stating that the request was sent to them too late. On September 4, 2008 a list of electors in Louisiana using the label "Louisiana Taxpayers Party" filed papers and paid $500Winger, Richard. [http://www.ballot-access.org/2008/09/04/louisiana-asked-to-print-ron-paul-on-ballot-as-presidential-candidate/ Louisiana Asked to Print Ron Paul on Ballot as Presidential Candidate] Ballot Access News, 2008-09-04. Accessed 2008-09-08. "On September 4, a slate of presidential electors was filed at the Louisiana Secretary of State's office, in person. The electors are pledged to Ron Paul for president, and former Congressman Barry Goldwater, Jr., for vice-president. The partisan label for this slate is "Louisiana Taxpayers Party." The filing, and the $500 was accepted"] with the Secretary of State's Office. They are pledged to Paul for President and Barry Goldwater, Jr. for Vice President.

The same day, Paul made a brief press statement: "On the heels of his historic three-day rally in Minneapolis that drew over 12,000 attendees, Congressman Ron Paul will make a major announcement next week in Washington at the National Press Club."Reason Online: [http://www.reason.com/convention2008/show/128638.html "Ron Paul's Surprise?"] by David Weigel.] The congressman had reportedly invited presidential candidates Chuck Baldwin, Bob Barr, Cynthia McKinney, and Ralph Nader to the press conference, leading some to speculate that they would endorse Paul running for president on the ticket of either the Constitution, Libertarian or other third party. [cite web|url=http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2008/09/ron-paul-to-make-major-announcement.html |title=EconomicPolicyJournal.com: Ron Paul to Make Major Announcement Next Week |publisher=Economicpolicyjournal.com |date=Friday, September 5, 2008 |accessdate=2008-09-16]

On September 10, 2008, Paul confirmed his open endorsement for the four candidates at a press conference in Washington D.C.(2008-09-10) [http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/10/paul.endorsement/ Ron Paul urges voters to skip McCain, Obama] , CNNPolitics.com. Retrieved on 2008-09-10] He also revealed that he had rejected a personal request for an endorsement from John McCain . [Gamboa, Suzanne (2008-09-10) [http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gj4x1Ijw4MDlWEadWey5y9c0GlhgD933TVRG7] , Associated Press. Retrieved on 2008-09-10] He later appeared on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" with Nader where they presented and briefly laid out the four principles that all the independent candidates had agreed on as the most important key issues of the presidential race. [The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, CNN, September 10, 2008 [http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/09/10/intv.tsr.paul.nader.cnn.cnn?iref=videosearch] ]

On September 22, 2008, Paul announced his support for Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party.Cite web |url=http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog/?p=582 |title=A New Alliance |author=Ron Paul |publisher=Ron Paul |date=2008-09-22 |accessdate=2008-09-22|quote=I’ve thought about the unsolicited advice from the Libertarian Party candidate, and he has convinced me to reject my neutral stance in the November election. I’m supporting Chuck Baldwin, the Constitution Party candidate.]

ee also

*Electoral history of Ron Paul
*Political positions of Ron Paul
*Fundraising for the 2008 presidential election
*Republican Liberty Caucus
*United States presidential election, 2008
*Opinion polling for the Republican Party (United States) 2008 presidential candidates

References

External links

* [http://www.ronpaullibrary.org Ron Paul Library] , more than 1,000 articles and speeches by Ron Paul
* [http://www.ronpaulnation.net Ron Paul Nation]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/us/politics/04transcript.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1 May 2007 Republican Debate Transcript] , "New York Times"
*
* [http://wiki.ronpaulpresshub.com/ Ron Paul Wiki]
* [http://www.spartaninternet.com/2008/bycandidate.asp?tab=3&id=16 Ron Paul Ranking in Spartan Internet Political Performance Index]
* [http://www.usastrawpolls.com/states/New-Jersey-Straw-Polls.html USA Straw Polls]
* [http://www.2008electionprocon.org/ 2008 Election] at [http://www.procon.org ProCon.org]