When it comes to domestic policy Ron Paul is a solid conservative. I think most FReepers would agree with that.
But, it’s his foreign policy that causes him to stay stagnant in the polls at 1 or 2%. An anti-war and anti-Israel candidate just isn’t going to win the Republican nomination, especially in a post-9/11 world.
He’s anti-war all right, but not anti-Israel; he’s Israeli-neutral.
He condemned last summer’s attacks on Lebanon, primarily because the attacks on Lebanese infrastructure were pointless, unjust, and self-defeating (why the heck did they bomb infrastructure targets anyway?). The attacks also resulted in a lot of dead Lebanese Christians, which pro-Israel evangelicals also ignore. How can Christians support Israeli actions that hurt Palestinian and Lebanese Christians, which number 15% and 35% of their respective populations?
But Ron Paul has also said that Iran wouldn’t dare to attack Israel, as the Israelis have the ability to “mop the floor” with Iran.