Republican Presidential Candidate Ron Paul Could Win

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani and Senator-turned-actor Fred Thompson have effectively been eliminated from serious competition for the Republican presidential nomination because they have both been embarassed and defeated by Texas Congressman Ron Paul in early voting.

Guiliani received only three percent of the vote in Iowa caucuses, compared to Paul's 10 percent. Thompson received only one percent in the New Hampshire primary, compared to Paul's eight percent. Thompson was only ahead of Paul by three percent in Iowa, and Guiliani could only generate one percent more than Paul in New Hampshire.

These two so-called "frontrunners," who were lavished with media attention, debate invitations and predictions of victory, couldn't even muster the votes to consistently defeat the long-shot, dark-horse, libertarian-Republican candidate whom the media says cannot win.

If Ron Paul can similarly humiliate Sen. John McCain in Nevada, South Carolina or Michigan, he will destroy McCain's already shaky viability and credibility.

This is a realistic scenario because Ron Paul has more money than McCain. In recent months, Paul has raised more money than any other candidate, Republican or Democrat.

Since 2006, there have been a dozen or more Republicans running for president - Paul has already proven himself a survivor and contender by lasting this long.

He has begun to overcome the disadvantage of a skeptical media and, in fact, has turned media inattention to his advantage. Paul was granted many interviews on national TV news programs to talk about his exclusion from the Fox News Channel's New Hampshire debates. It was the out-of-touch state of America's media that fueled Paul's initial popularity on the Internet.

If these trends continue - raising record amounts of money, defeating so-called 'frontrunners,' gaining ever more media attention - then it is quite possible that Ron Paul could win the Republican nomination. With the momentum he would gain from such a GOP victory, he could sweep to the presidency over Barack or Hillary.