Why Not Ron Paul?

I've previously voiced my view that Mitt Romney would be the Least Pernicious Republican President, but Kevin Drum's making me take a second look at Ron Paul: "Still, if I had to choose between Ron Paul and, say, Rudy Giuliani for president, would I vote for Paul? You bet. There are worse things than being a crank."

I guess that's right. On the subjects where Paul seems unusually wrong for a Republican, there's just no chance of Paul's policy preferences being enacted into law. On the issues where Paul's views are a lot closer to mine than they are to the average Republican, by contrast, the executive has a great deal of discretion. Paul's foreign policy ideas about the use of force are a good deal more dovish than mine, but I think at this point I'd rather see the country go too far in Paul's direction than too far in Giuliani's. So there you have it. Ron Paul: "Less Torture and His Domestic Policy's So Crazy Congress Will Be Able to Block It" it seems like a convincing least-pernicious Republican bid to me.