Here is the transcript, I think this title shows a bit of MSM bias, as this was probably the least important part of the interview IMO.
Full transcript of Ron Paul on Meet the Press:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22342301/
MR. RUSSERT: If, if you do not win the Republican nomination for president, will you run as an independent in 2008?
REP. PAUL: I have no intention to do that.
MR. RUSSERT: Absolute promise.
REP. PAUL: I have no intention of doing that.
MR. RUSSERT: Well, but no intention’s a wiggle word.
REP. PAUL: Well, OK, I deserve one wiggle now and then, Tim. I mean, what the devil...
MR. RUSSERT: So no—so no Shermanesque statement.
REP. PAUL: You know, I...
MR. RUSSERT: “I will not sun as an independent.”
REP. PAUL: Well, I can be pretty darned sure that I have no intention, no plans of doing it, and that’s about 99.9 percent. I don’t like people who are such absolutists, “I will never do this, or I will win, I’m going to come in first.” I don’t like those absolutists terms in politics.
MR. RUSSERT: But the door’s open a little bit.
REP. PAUL: Not very much. It really isn’t. I, I don’t—Tim, we just raised $10 million in two days. We haven’t even had a race, we have February 5th coming up. We have a campaign to run. Why—do you ask all the other—how many other candidates have you asked, “Are you going to run as a third party candidate if you don’t win?” Have you asked John McCain that?
MR. RUSSERT: Well, if someone has a history of running as a third party candidate, sure. You ran in ‘88 as a Libertarian.
REP. PAUL: Yeah, well, I know...
MR. RUSSERT: It’s a logical question.
I’m not supporting Ron Paul, but I have to laugh at the current FR “conventional wisdom.” On thread after thread, various GOP candidates are attacked vehemently, with the only exception being Fred Thompson. He’s only attacked a little bit.
The only conclusion one can draw from this is that many of the posters will not support the GOP nominee if it is Romney, McCain, Giuliani, etc., leading one to the logical conclusion that they will vote third party.
Yet, they also participate in these pile-on-Ron-Paul threads, attacking Paul for leaving the door open a tiny bit for running third party.
So, if the nominee isn’t Fred Thompson, will most FReepers just stay home?