RE: Dark Horse of the Year

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From: Shane (Infoseekr)
Date: Dec 6, 2007 1:30 AM

GQ Men of the Year 2007

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<span .."font-size: 1.2em;">Dark Horse of the Year: Ron Paul</span>

We've chosen presidential candidate Ron Paul as our Dark Horse of the Year—in GQ's December Men of the Year issue, on stands nationwide on November 27th. Here's why.

Washington sure seems like a town full of bullies sometimes. Along comes a 72-year-old physician from south Texas who weighs maybe 140 pounds with rocks in his pockets, whom most people, at the beginning of the year, couldn't have picked out of a two-person lineup, who took in barely enough first-quarter money to buy a fancy Italian car, who comes armed with ideas both misbegotten (Abolish the Fed!) and very much not (End this war! Stop indefinitely detaining human beings!), and what do the folks who run the Republican Party do? They try to silence him. The head of the Michigan Republicans calls for his removal from the debates. Rudy Giuliani attacks him for—what else?—insufficient patriotism. To witness this is to understand the fear Ron Paul has instilled in the GOP. He has tapped into his party's silent minority, one that won't abide torture, reckless spending, or endless war. And his supporters (and admittedly, there are some real conspiracy-minded moonbats among them) have rewarded Paul for his courageousness, to the tune of more than $5 million in campaign contributions in the third quarter—about the same as John McCain has raised. It isn't a revolution, but Ron Paul's candidacy serves as a reminder that electoral politics needn't be a joyless march to a clothespin vote. It can be daring and kind of kooky, too. —Greg Veis