Ron Paul and Barack Obama

Larison doesn't see any overlap:

Sure, superficially Obama and Paul might seem to offer some similar themes, and both did oppose the Iraq war, but Obama is essentially an interventionist at home and abroad and Paul is diametrically opposed to both.  One invokes JFK, the other invokes Robert Taft.  Obama thinks everything on earth is tied to our national security; Paul thinks that there are very few things overseas that are tied to our national security.

That's fair enough. What both do share, though, is a sense of being outside the establishment of their respective parties. They both sound as if they are saying things they actually believe and have thought about at some length. I wonder if Obama can keep this up, given what national politics does to people. But those of us happy to see both parties shaken up by insurgents wish them both well.