It's Official: Ron Paul Matters

Vladimir Putin is Time magazine's Person of the Year, but the darkest Republican dark horse makes it on the list as a "Person Who Mattered," right up there with Britney Spears and Billiam the YouTube Snowman.

Booed by Republicans for his isolationist foreign policy views and anathema to Democrats for his anti-government philosophy, the Texas congressman was proudly out of step with both political parties. But marching to his own drummer, the grandfatherly libertarian found himself leading an online parade. Millions of dollars poured into his quixotic presidential campaign, raising an inevitable question: What's next for this free-thinking and strangely compelling grassroots crusader?

Paul's never been in higher demand than he's been this month. John Stossel's multi-part too-hot-for-TV interview continues here:

If North Korea invades South Korea, we should just leave it alone?

Sure, but it's not going to happen. South Korea's about 10 times more powerful than North Korea.

If China invaded Taiwan?

That's a border war, and they should deal with it.

If Canada invades Montana?

I think that might be a little bit different. Montana probably could take care of it, but we'd probably help them out from Washington if that happened.

That's a role for the federal government?

Oh, sure.

Montana could probably take care of it. Spoken like a guy who wants to take the Feb. 5 Montana primary.

UPDATE: Looking over the list again I see that Paul and new Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal are the only Republicans who made it. That sounds about right: None of the other GOP candidates have really "mattered." All but one of them will lose the primary, and that guy is odds-on favorite to lose the general election. And this really is the first time since… I don't know, 1856, that there hasn't been a GOP frontrunner by December. The race has been distinguished by the rise and implosion, at various points, of basically every candidate except Paul. Hawks are doubtless miffed that Erik Prince and Robert Gates got nods but St. Petraeus of Baghdad did not.

UPDATE II: Always click through! On the main page only the top two runners-up for POTY were listed: Al Gore and J.K. Rowling. David Petraeus was third, and he gets a little profile.