huffingtonpost.com

Congressman Ron Paul finished a strong third in the Iowa primary, and second in New Hampshire. Whatever you think of him, he's earned the right to be taken seriously, and yet, he's not. The Ron Paul Media Blackout was confirmed in October in a study done by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism.

If there is a response to the "media blackout" charge, it is that Ron Paul doesn't get more media attention because members of the mainstream media know he can't win -- he's too extreme. But, when Ron Paul is doing well in the primaries and a CNN/ORC International poll shows Paul even with Obama, does that argument really hold water? Increasingly, for the Republican establishment and the mainstream media, it might be more accurate to say, we fear he can win -- he's too extreme.

I think my own personal position on Ron Paul is a common one. Some of what he says I find really appealing, and some of what he says I find really scary. On the one hand, I appreciate his refreshing candor, and admire his commitment -- listening to him debate is often thought provoking. On the other hand, much of what he says relegates him, rightly, in my opinion, to the "Crazy Uncle" corner that he seems to be stuck in. Both Democrats and Republicans seem to have this problem with Ron Paul, but Democrats tend to like the opposite 50 percent of what Ron Paul says from the 50 percent that Republicans like. Democrats tend to like the part about protecting civil liberties and reducing military spending, while the Republicans tend to like the 50 percent that's about slashing social programs, but hate the part about withdrawing all our troops from around the globe. As Rick Santorum said, "The problem with Congressman Paul is, all the things that Republicans like about him he can't accomplish and all the things they're worried about, he'll do day one."