If Ron Paul was a more charismatic speaker, would he be taken for real?

Question

For those that know his message, (a message that is not knew) it is easy to support the view; however, often it seems to me that Paul has been seen as a kook because he brings forth ideas that are not well understood by the masses while not being charismatic enough to drive home the point.

To those that only are hearing the ideals for the first time, they see this man who is a not the best of speakers suddenly saying we should get rid of the Fed or Department of Education and just assume he is a kook.

The fact is, whether one agrees or disagrees, there is an intelligent view to his positions that when presented well makes a lot of sense as to why one would logically come to those conclusions. Paul's presentation of those positions has not been great.

Will it take a much more charismatic speaker to accomplish real change?

"knew" should have been "new" ...yes, I did not proofread :)

Answer 1

Ron Paul does fine with conveying his opinions and positions on the issues. He doesn't waver even when folks like Sean Hannity play their games with him.

The problem is not charisma. The real problem is the way the debates are manipulated by the moderators.

We really don't need moderators. Chris Matthews and others can't seem to stop doing their programs and actually conduct a debate.

Look every candidate should be asked the same question and given the exact same time to answer it. 10 questions about real issues facing the nation and let each guy or gal tell you how they are going to solve it.

Instead we have these made for TV moments, where Ron Paul is asked exactly the kind of question that will give McCain or Rudy a chance to pounce on him and strut like patriotic roosters.

Ron Paul actually believes what the vast majority of Americans believe. He just doesn't get the equal time to tell you that. And in that way he is like the American people themselves...as they do not get equal time either.

Answer 2

The biggest problem is that Ron Paul is not a Republican. He is a Libertarian. He's running as a Republican because he knows he would get even less attention as a third party candidate. He also, as another answerer mentioned, is not particularly good looking, which is very important in politics. But most of all, he doesn't have the money. I know he raised all those millions on the Internet, but have you seen a Ron Paul ad anywhere? I don't know if he has bad advisors or if he's just out of touch with what it takes to win.

Answer 3

The problem is the media is promoting Guiliani, McCain, Romney,Huckabee, Edwards, Hillary and Obama while ignoring the rest, no matter how much money they collect.

This shows that the following candidates are just corporate whores and nothing will change if they are elected

Anyways do you really consider the other candidates to be charismatic? They all talk the same and none of them write there own speeches. So being charismatic means little

Answer 4

Ron Paul's problems extend beyond his abilities at public speaking, although I agree this is one of his biggest weaknesses.

Still Ron Paul is just too extreme to win national appeal in large numbers. He wants to destroy the Department of Education, and the National Institute of Health, you can't have a platform like that and expect to win the majority of parents or academics in this country.

Once government provides certain services, it is very hard to roll them back and expect the voting population to go along with it. The voting public is too self-centered for that. In general, radical change that Paul advocates is usually rejected by voters.

While I maintain some liberatarian ideals about government, I don't think one specific ideealogy solves all problems. I believe pragmatic solutions need to look beyond an ideaology. Ron Paul is a hardcore libertarian. While that is an admirable stance, that is simply not a feasible platform to take and expect to win the majority of US voters.

His stubborn refusal to adapt his campaign, beyond the a staunch liberatarian stance is the reason he is not taken for real. He will never appeal to most Republicans because his libertarian views mean he wants out of Iraq and all foreign countries immediately. He will never appeal to most Democrats because he wants to kill and destroy the NIH, the Department of Education, NASA and many other programs Democrats want to support with tax dollars.

So he is clearly a fringe candidate. While I admire his ability to bring libertarian views to the national stage, I'll be the first to admit he has no hope of being elected.

Answer 5

Americans, hopefully, will not (as a whole) be stupid like we were in the last 2 elections. What the man SAYS and BELIEVES IN, should be waaaay more important than the delivery of his speech, or the condition of his suit, or if his hair is slighty outta place....C'MON!! Look at the idiot we have in there now.....he couldn't be any worse (unless he were truly mentally challenged) at addressing the people in a speech. bush has been compared to Hitler, but the huge difference is that Hitler WAS above average intelligence.....similarities are that they both are evil and wanna rule the world.... one was smart and the other one is clearly stupid.

Answer 6

I would agree with completely except for one thing - W. The man can't string together an intelligent sentence and he still managed to get a lot of votes. Some people think he is intelligent because he went to Harvard. But his daddy bought him his education and degree by donating over $1 million dollars. Dr. Paul needs to improve his 'presence'. He certainly is not polished and rehearsed like the others who have acting coaches ( found this on line after a debate). I like his ideas and think he has 'the stuff' but he really does need to pay more attention to his articulation skills.

Answer 7

harry k - he just wants to end the monopoly of the federal reserve by allowing competing private currencies backed by hard assets (like gold).

If given a choice in such a matter, I don't think the fed would last long at all.

Ron Paul's been pretty clear on "how" he would approach his goals and his plans are pretty reasonable and well thought out. If you haven't heard specifics, maybe you're getting your info from the wrong source.

Answer 8

Ron Paul's idea's are not understood by Ron Paul.

How does one get rid of the Fed and go to the gold standard without wrecking the economy?

Please give me a plan. None of Paul's literature describes how he expects to do it.

Answer 9

Charisma is one of the traits of the a good leader in order that people will follow him. Thus, Ron Paul who excellent views on critical issues must be complemented by charisma.

VOTE for your choice as US President on my 360 degrees blog and know who will likely win.

Answer 10

Why is legalizing pot not intelligent? Is there some intellectual reason that someone can't do something that doesn't harm others?