See, that's the problem. You don't know for 100%. Nobody has been able to definitively claim he's not a paleo-isolationist. He's got the same supporters as his father's, and if this guy weren't that far afield from dad in his views, he'd not be getting their support. And as for the qualifications part, it may not be spelled out in the Constitution, but there are some basics that make a candidate viable in a general election, just some basic experience. You may take a random selection of ex-felons, I prefer to set the bar a little higher. I want to know they're right on the issues, aren't going to sabotage the movement, and aren't a nutter.
Yeah, well, I know even less about the other guy, and little of it is very good.
Every politician is a pig in a poke. Maybe Rand is a secret pacifist. Then again, he could be a big government nanny stater. Which is worse?
No one voting for Mark Foley figgered he was a gonna be chasing teenage boys around the capital. No one figgered that war hero Duke Cunningham would become a complete corrupto-crat, etc, etc.
All I know is that this country would be better off with 535 San Quentin inmates or 535 mongoloids running the show.