Nice review. The only reservation I agree with is the one on abortion, and I’m glad Ron stresses that it isn’t a federal issue he would deal with as president.
Ron doesn’t “poo-pooh” earmarks. He poo-poohs the reformist credentials politicians try to buy as they decry the earmarks. If they were real reformers, they would work on the gushing arteries and obstructed airways in our system of government, our economy, our future, and our reputation in the world.
Remember, Jefferson used letters of marque and reprisal (rather than asking for a declaration of war against private individuals — so stupid an idea that it has never been considered until Bush bypassed it by getting unconstitutional “authority” to wage undeclared war on two nations), just as Ron Paul pointed out we should do with terrorists not proven to be working for any government. That’s Ron — always offering the constitutional course of action.
And, as has been mentioned already, it’s hardly “crank territory” to want a commodity-based monetary system (he’s not wedded to gold), that being the only kind immune to inflation and resistant to credit-fed economic bubbles and crashes.
Finally (cutting my reply short), bringing troops home from overseas not only removes them as a local (and often global) irritant, but saves bundles that would be much better spent domestically (or, better, retained by the taxpayers).
