Opinion: Ron Paul gets his late-night moment with Jay Leno

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Well, the tension is mounting today as the world waits to see what scripted joke Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul will drop tonight during his negotiated dialogue with Jay Leno.

Paul, whose political passion can come across as strident and pushy on the TV debates, is not known for his comebacks, one-liners, quips or even smiles, although he’s got a big grin on his website.

As we’ve noted before here and here and here, NBC’s ‘Tonight Show with Jay Leno’ has become a required stop for candidates to show a more human side to potential American voters when the kids are tucked in and the adults are preparing for bed and have fewer distractions, though it’s actually taped late afternoon California time.

Already this year Jay has hosted John Edwards twice (Jan. 10 and June 25 with Elizabeth), Tom Vilsack (Feb. 15), whose candidacy didn’t last much longer than his program segment, Joe Biden (March 22), Mitt Romney (May 2), Bill Richardson (May 11), John McCain (June 28), Barack Obama (Oct. 17), Dennis Kucinich (Sept. 24) and Fred Thompson on June 12, when he announced he might announce, and Sept. 5, when he actually announced he would announce.

Paul, a former Libertarian Party candidate for president, has, as we’ve noted, a range of non-traditional ideas that have placed him on the flanks of the Republican Party debates. He’s a strict Constitutionalist with outspoken views against the Iraq war and American interventionism. He’s suggested that the U.S. caused the 9/11 attacks by its bombing of Iraq, which drew barbs from other Republicans, mainly national GOP front-runner Rudy Giuliani.

Paul did well in numerous minor straw polls and has attracted to his political niche a fervent band of thousands of followers who patrol the sidewalks and interstate bridges with ‘Ron Paul 08’ signs and monitor the Internet for any mention of their underdog candidate and jump in to praise or defend him. The Times’ Scott Martelle recently followed two Paulites seeking some GOP delegates in the Bay Area.

In their own chat rooms Paul supporters discuss writers they don’t like and advise each other on...

how best to represent Dr. Paul, an ob-gyn and 10-term Texas congressman.

Then, in the third-quarter fundraising reporting period, the 72-year-old political veteran surprised many political observers by raising $5 million, 78% of it online, and a total that’s five times as much as the better-known Mike Huckabee, who is taken more seriously. But although Paul languishes in single digits in most polls, money talks in politics.

So now, having already launched a series of radio ads in four early states, Paul has decided to spend $1.1 million on a pair of TV commercials in New Hampshire. In one, Paul stands before a copy of the Constitution and boasts that he is the only candidate of either party to promise an immediate Iraq withdrawal, budget-cutting and a veto of any deficit spending. ‘Once we stop wasting trillions overseas, we can cut the budget and still help people who need it,’ he says.

In the other a group of seemingly ordinary citizens praise Paul. ‘I don’t always agree with him,’ one says, ‘but he’s honest and you always know where he stands.’ Another adds, ‘He’s catching on, I’m telling ya.’

As long as he’s in California for the NBC-TV show, Paul has scheduled a 7 p.m. fundraiser at an unannounced Hollywood Hills residential address revealed only to those who actually donate online.

Tonight thanks to Leno, a few million Americans who’ve never heard of the man with two first names, will get their first exposure to a representative known in Congress as Dr. No for his anti-spending votes. During the night his dedicated followers, who include a wide-range of conservatives including some 9/11 conspiracy believers, will busily work the Web to magnify the impact of Paul’s rare national TV appearance.

--Andrew Malcolm