Scott P. Richert

December 18, 2007

I support Ron Paul, and I intend to vote for him in the Illinois primary.  But I had a little different reaction from Justin’s when I watched the clip of the congressman commenting on the Huckster’s Christmas ad.  My friend and colleague Aaron Wolf is right: “That was not a wise comment by Ron Paul.”

In fact, the congressman seems tired in the clip, and the whole thing has the odd feel of being a set-up (though it’s hard to imagine how it could be, since the FOX flunkies would have had to know what Paul’s response would be for it to work).  What makes it all the more odd, of course, is that Congressman Paul released his own Christmas message, and it ends with a whole French door full of crosses:

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Ron Paul is very attractive to many Christian voters, especially those who actually believe in the small-government rhetoric that the Republicans have been feeding them for years.  It would be a shame to have one silly comment, made while obviously fatigued, undercut his support among Christians.  If you think it won’t, take a look at the number of views on Ron Paul’s Christmas ad on YouTube (133,520, at this writing) and the number of views on the FOX clip (118,957).  Many of those who liked the former will be turned off by the latter.

Congressman Paul may unfortunately find out that YouTube cuts both ways.