Ron Paul needs to sell himself better.

I agreed with everything Ron Paul said last night at the Fox News debate in Florida. He truly is a dream-candidate for me (with very few exceptions). However, in order for him to get more support, he must be more politically savvy in the way he delivers his message. I understand that part of what makes Ron Paul great is that he speaks his mind, but I also think he can afford to be more calculating while still staying true to his beliefs. If he wants to win the Republican primary, he's going to have to convince the voters that he is a true conservative, not some anti-war liberal.

Below is the video of Ron Paul at the debate last night along the some of my criticism/recommendations.



0:11 – He should have just left it at Federalism and state's rights. That is a true conservative position that Republicans are familiar with. Talking about how contracts between individuals must be protected was irrelevant to the question asked.

1:38 – Bash regulation, not corporations. When Republicans hear someone criticize corporations, they immediately think of some anti-capitalist liberal like Michael Moore. He could have gotten his point across by advocating deregulation (a word republicans like) and criticizing lobby groups (everyone hates lobbies, even Republicans.)

3:24 – Anyone who knows anything about Ron Paul knows how ridiculous a comparison this is. Yes, Hillary says she's anti-war but isn't, but there are many more differences between them that would have gone over better with the crowd. He is against corporate mandates, against repealing the Bush taxcuts, against expanding federal programs and he is pro-life, just to name a few.

8:05 – This was a good opportunity for Paul to list his conservative credentials: he is pro-life, he is pro gun rights, he has never voted to raise taxes, he has never voted for an unbalanced budget, he wants to eliminate many federal departments like the Department of Education.

Another recommendation I have for Paul is for him to talk about Reagan more. The Republican Party's deification of Ronald Reagan can not be overlooked if one is vying for it's nomination. Ron Paul should talk about how he was one of the few Republicans to endorse him in '76, talk about how he was one the few Republicans in congress to stay true to Reagan's philosophy of small government by never voting for an unbalanced budget.

Ron Paul is not going to win if he's only going to rely on the popularity of his position on the war. He needs to emphasize his views which would be popular among Republicans. He is, after all, trying to win the republican primary.