Oh, You Meant Ron Paul

I have been bombarded by mail encouraging me to take a fresh look at candidate for the Republican nomination Ron Paul. My conservative friends think he is great and my antiwar liberal friends think he is interesting. He is, in fact, situated where liberals and conservatives can often meet and that is at a Libertarian position. This emphasizes personal freedom and takes a skeptical view of government. And there is no question that Paul is both interesting in himself and in the fans he has attracted. He is kind of this season's Howard Dean--with lots of young people and great web-based fund raising.

When I first started getting inundated with email, I was slightly confused. Why were they urging me to study the record of Ru Paul, I wondered? After getting the proper clarification that they were not, in fact, asking me to send money to a famous female impersonator, I began to re-think Ru Paul. What are better political traits than to be all things to all people? It was said of Julius Cesar that he was "a husband to every wife and a wife to every husband." Politicians often spend much of their time dressing as what they are not and speaking in different and largely inauthentic voices. Want me tough, I'll lower my voice and don my blue jeans. Want a sweet user-friendly pol and I can put on lace and talk sweet.

The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that cross-dressing and looking good both ways are important advantages in modern politics. A little sexual ambiguity is probably okay. An African American candidate is certainly appropriate. With Ru Paul we get it all. I'm forming a committee right away to draft Ru Paul.