Why is Paul doing so well?

[Jacobtm]

I know lots of people who're voters, and lean liberal. The types who've voted for Democrats and maybe Perot/Nader. They think most politicians are scumbags, but y'know, lean the way they lean.

They like Ron Paul alot. He's honest and sticks to his beliefs, is the most common compliment I hear. When they hear him disagree with Republican orthodoxy, talking about how we shouldn't be invading countries for kicks, they agree wholeheartedly. They don't know all his positions, can't really imagine what a Ron Paul administration would look like, but to them he seems like a straight-shooter who isn't trying to turn us into a bellicose theocracy.

Obviously, any liberal who believes the federal government should fund things like education, health care, transportation etc. would have a hard time living with a Ron Paul administration. But the admiration for the honest guy is still there, since it's not yet pointed out how he wants to cut every social program there is.