The Ron Paul Effect - The Rosie O'Donnell Fallout

I think it's too early to tell what lasting effect Ron Paul's candidacy for President will have on the Republican primaries, but it is obvious that other Republicans are worried about it. John Dickerson reports at Slate that a petition is circulating to prevent Paul from participating in future debates. Apparently Paul's unflinching criticism of the war in Iraq and U.S. foreign policy is making the frontrunners uncomfortable. Dickerson explains why that could be a good thing for the frontrunners and the GOP in general.

Screw the frontrunners and screw the GOP. The same can be said for the Democratic Party frontrunners and their relationship to Dennis Kucinich, who, like Paul, holds the other candidates to account for their previously pro-war positions (though Dennis fucked up by attacking Barak Obama.) The "good thing" should be for the American people and, by extension, for the people in the Middle East, starting with an intellectually honest, historically informed and globally responsible debate on how to resolve the mess Western powers have created in the Middle East. In that respect, does Paul's candidacy help?

Judging from a recent discussion on The View, Paul and Kucinich have more work to do. ( More on this behind the cut )