Obama Should Pick Ron Paul as V.P.

Now that Hillary appears to be out of the picture and Barack Obama has turned his attention to defeating John McCain, it's time to start contemplating who Obama should pick as his Vice President.

I'll cut to the chase. While many people are pining for Hillary (she wouldn't' take it if offered and Obama would be out of his mind to offer it), Joe Biden (not a bad choice, at least he calls out Republicans for the corrupt bastards they are), or any of the other soon to be political V.P. flavor of the month, there's another intriguing choice.

Ron Paul.

Here me out. While Ron Paul is a Republican and former Libertarian, he has more in common with Libertarians than the current Republican Party platform of tax cuts for the rich, tax cuts for companies outsourcing U.S. jobs, perpetual wars, spying on American citizens, etc.

Furthermore, Libertarians have much more in common with Democrats than Republicans. The main difference is that the Democratic Party has historically championed larger government through social programs. The Libertarian Party believes in smaller government and protecting personal freedoms. But times have changed and Barack Obama is a different kind of Democrat. While Bush, McCain, and even Hillary have pushed for ignoring or destroying the parts of the Constitution they do not like, Obama's stance is much closer to that of a Libertarian. He's for protecting individual rights and not spying on citizens.

Paul has much more in common with Barack Obama than his current Republican Party. Both Obama and Paul want to bring about drastic changes in Washington. They both want to end the Iraq war, want a smaller government with balanced budgets, fix the health care problem, end lobbyist control, eliminate pork and earmarking, etc.

Their solutions can deviate wildly from one another, but one thing Obama and Paul both share is a passion for this country. Unlike Hillary, who says we need to "be real" when we discuss our hopes for the future then says everything will be great if she is elected, Obama and Paul have both been honest when discussing our future. They both are candid about the problems facing us, and that the issues will get worse in the foreseeable future. We need someone like that who has a plan to fix things and won't bury their head in the sand claiming things are great. And while John McCain says "there will be many more wars, my friends, many more wars", and that talking to Iran is "giving in to terrorists", both Obama and Paul want to avoid an Iran war, while McCain and Hillary have both openly said they are in favor of war with Iran. Paul doesn't even want us to have troops overseas, period. Obama wants our troops out of Iraq asap.

I also have a hard time believing an Obama Administration would manufacture evidence to go to war. We can already see McCain doing just that, and he's not even President. As Joe Biden recently said, there are only three options for our relationship with Iran: Talk to them, go to war, or maintain the unacceptable current situation. McCain has ruled out number one, that makes McCain's calls for bombing Iran seem all the more inevitable if he becomes President.

One other plus that Paul would bring to Obama would be the 5-19% of the Republican vote Paul has consistently received in the Republican primaries and caucuses. Of course, not all of those voters are likely Republicans, many are independents and some are Democrats, but for any true Republican, Ron Paul's platform is the traditional Republican core values - smaller government and lower taxes. That's much more appealing than John McCain's Neo-Con values of "Less Jobs, More Wars".

Realistically, a Vice President doesn't have a huge impact on a President's policies in office. In most cases the V.P. is a ceremonial figurehead, think Cal Ripken Jr.'s backup, they will likely never get in the game, but they do offer some protection. If the President becomes incapacitated, the V.P. would theoretically carry on with similar stances on the issues. But a V.P. like Ron Paul could have a larger role in changing Washington for the better than any V.P. in history. With his passion and constant search for the truth, Ron Paul, who would be the head of the Senate, casting the deciding vote on any ties, would be a champion of the American people and Barack Obama. He would be the best point man America could have watching over our Senate. And he would be a nightmare for a corrupt Senate who care more about personal pork earmarking than passing bills that help Americans.

The bottom line is, while there are differences between Obama and Paul, their similarities and passion for this country, as well as their history of working with others and just plain common sense overcome what on the outside looks like an odd marriage.

Further Reading:

Barack Obama on the issues
Ron Paul on the issues
John McCain on the issues - keep in mind that McCain has a 30 year history of saying the exact opposite of what he does - watch these short videos to see him contradict himself constantly: