Mea Culpa on Paul? (UPDATE: Could Paul run as a third party candidate?)

I've never really understood what causes some people to wet themselves when talking about perpetual Presidential candidate Ron Paul. More specifically, I've been told by many of my libertarian friends that my view of Paul being a crackpot is a bit harsh. Unfortunately, his palling around with true kook Jesse Ventura did little to dissuade me that my assessment was wrong.

But with that in mind, I've been seeing a lot lately a quote attributed to Paul that seemed to be the quite prescient in regards to the agreement to raise the debt ceiling (and thus add trillions to our debt).

"Deficits mean future tax increases, pure and simple. Deficit spending should be viewed as a tax on future generations, and politicians who create deficits should be exposed as tax hikers."

It'll be interesting if any of the current crop of GOP Presidential candidates echo this same viewpoint. Michele Bachmann also voted "No" to raising the debt ceiling, though many would argue it was little more than an attempt to score cheap political points. Regardless what one thinks of Paul, he doesn't strike me as the type to dabble in such symbolism.

I'll put it this way: If by some minor miracle Paul becomes the GOP nominee for President, I can easily support him over the White House's current occupant.

UPDATE: The Paul Threat Republicans Mustn't Ignore.

--------------------------------------------