Ron Paul

I attending some of the events surrounding the Republican debate yesterday in Dearborn, Michigan. I attended a meet-and-greet with Ron Paul and one with Sam Brownback. The reason to attend these particular events had to do only with expediency: they were the only ones having meet-and-greets with the public instead of private fund-raisers. What stuck out most were three things:

1. Rep. Paul really struck me as having a bit of a vacant look to him as he walked by. He walked directly by me (needing, apparently, to gently nudge me out of the way as he passed) and I was really struck the vacant look. He was probably just tired, but it was a clear differences from Senator Brownback's very energetic, purposeful gaze.
2. The Ron Paul supporters well organized. I can understand. I can understand now first hand why he does so well in things like straw polls, instant reaction surveys, and web polls. Perhaps 30% of there were Ron Paul supporters, which is notable in that less than 10% of Republicans support him. The vast majority of his supporters clearly were not students and had been brought in. I heard a couple of campaign workers talk about the Dearborn rally for Ron Paul and the follow-up rally in Ann Arbor. Apparently, there were going to be quite a number of people who'd be at both and members of the campaign were definitely helping move people.
3. Presidential candidates are ridiculously tall. On TV, Ron Paul never struck me as particularly tall. He's definitely over 6 foot and Senator Brownback is probably 6'4".

In all, it was an interesting event. It's great to see all of the candidates coming together in Michigan to discuss economics. Michigan is a bit of a caricature of the "rust belt" region, but the problems which have crippled our economy are still valid in manufacturing cities throughout the region. It's a shame that so many of the Democrats have decided to side with their national party as it disenfranchise Michigan primary voters.