Ron Paul is not your typical politician.  He is essentially a libertarian running for the Republican nomination for President.  His positions reflect the best of liberal and conservative views.  I say the best because his positions reflect the concepts of equal opportunity, individual freedom, individual rights and limited government.  Special interests are resolutely rejected because pandering to them weakens the country at the expense of others. 

Texas Congressman Ron Paul sounds like a liberal when he bemoans the growth of the military-industrial complex. And he sounds like a conservative when he puts down bureaucrats and big government.

Wearing black sneakers for his meeting with the Register editorial board, Paul walks a different philosophic path than the other candidates in the presidential race. He was the1988 presidential nominee for the Libertarian Party, but is running this time for the Republican nomination. The strong Libertarian streak remains, though. He champions individual rights, limited government and low taxes.

His beliefs may tread the edge of mainstream thought, but he doesn’t harangue. Indeed, almost everything about him appears understated: dark-gray suit, gray-patterned tie and his hands folded in front of him for most of the meeting. A slight man, he gets a twinkle in his eyes and the pitch of his voice rises with incredulity as he recounts government excesses.

The federal No Child Left Behind law, pushed by President Bush, “essentially doubles the size of the Department of Education,” he said. “Do you think that’s going to help the students? No, it entrenches the bureaucrats.”
He’s dismayed by the notion that fighting terrorism demands erosion of civil liberties.

Read it all: DesMoinesRegister.com