Ron Paul is SO far to the right - granted he is very close to the foul line that he may be out of play in some ballparks - that I believe he might actually be THE MOST electable vs. Hilary because he can also garner a populist appeal . . .
I respectfully disagree with you, and maybe just about everyone else from maybe Rush Limbaugh to others in the Republican elite on Romney's electability against Hilary - they are just TOO much alike - like picking State of Washington apples v. Michigan apples in your produce section.
I do NOT think the GOP should at all be intimidated of going apples to oranges - although v. Hilary it might be more of a pear!
Ron Paul is one of the very few Republicans solidly on the populist side of the fence regarding foreign policy right now. . . MySpace popularity is the highest of any GOP candidate . . .maybe meaningless . . . And once he is privy to alot of the things WE don't know that ONLY the President gets to know about I'd bet he will learn some compromise to the military and just maybe validate George W. a bit by invoking his constitutional rights as Commander in Chief . . . maybe just sit back and allow those Israeli F-15's safe passage across Northern Iraq to bomb Tehran as much as they should be bombed! The objective in Iraq has already been (painfully) accomplished after the initial blitzkreig and it just costs too much - in life and dollars. We can't afford it.
Ron Paul was an early opponent of CAFTA - not any surprise - which eventually narrowly passed in the House 217-215. I think many Iowa and California and Texas and other farmers are disappointed that George W. Bush didn't at least TRY to exercise his veto powers over CAFTA.
I'll go with the National Taxpayer's Union champion v. Hilary as the truly electable GOP nominee - and Condi Rice to move up one peg in the government as the VP nominee out of St. Paul in September 2008 . . .
Some of Ron Paul comments on the record regarding Iraq and CAFTA can now be found - among other MANY other sites - at:
http://iowansforronpaul2008.blogspot.com/
http://californiansforronpaul2008.blogspot.com/
Problem is, our electorate has shifted to the center on so many issues, thanks to Hollywood and the liberal media. We are not "left", and I hope we never are, but let's face it, with as divided as the country is, there is no way a strong armed conservative that fights each and every battle tooth and nail will get elected in the general election.
A leader of such a diverse populous has to steer the mass in the "right" direction by picking the battles that will win back conservative values and principles. This is what Mitt was faced with in Massechusets, yet he did such a good job of balanceing, that the liberals there gave him an "F" grade.
I still think he's the man to beat.