Last night Ron Paul’s speech was a self-satisfied assessment of his second place finish in New Hampshire as victory. And it was, if you see Paul as not just another Republican candidate with a hope of getting this nomination, but as a living embodiment of libertarian doctrine. As a walking symbol he is always a winner. The problem is that the doctrine has nothing to do with any political realism. The pure libertarianism that he and his ardent supporters cheer themselves hoarse about could never work. Very few of them or their family members would want to live in a world without Social Security, Medicare, the VA, FAA, FDA, etc, etc, etc. But this is the comfort food of orthodoxy, which can be like a drug. Ayn Rand herself was hooked on amphetamines as well as her fantasy doctrine. And so would she be enjoying Paul as a great hit. And, as we see, vice versa.
