I've not told the story before, but I met Ron Paul at a Libertarian fund raiser a long time ago. He was running for President on the Libertarian Party ticket. The event was held at the home of a friend of mine. About 20 of us local Libertarians attended. Ron Paul's reputation preceded him. We were all familiar with his writing. At the time he was in the vanguard of libertarian thinking and Austrian economics. We were genuinely excited to be in the same room with such a great man, who just happened to be our candidate for President. Even then Ron had a winning personality and a kind of awe-inspiring charisma.
At dinner I learned what kind of human being Ron Paul is. Ron sat at the head of the table. He was being bombarded by unabashed compliments and softball questions about economics and libertarian philosophy. He was as a king before an adoring court. At one point a gentleman across from me asked Ron a particularly saccharine question. I can't even remember the substance of the question. All I remember is its tone of adulation. I think Ron was even taken aback a bit by the questioners undisguised flattery. The rest of the table sat hushed, smiling, awaiting Paul's reaction.
However, before Paul could say anything, I raised my hand and said: "Excuse me."
Paul looked at me. "Yes?" he said.
Without skipping a beat, I gestured to a plate on the table in front of him and said: "I'm sorry to interrupt, but would you please pass me the cookies?"
Everyone at the table gasped as Paul's mouth froze open in surprise. Then, he looked at me and laughed. "Be happy to," he said and passed me the plate of cookies.
With that the ice was broken as well as the phony-baloney mood. Ron Paul relaxed, as we all did. Everyone shared Paul's hearty laugh and the rest of the evening was like a family get together.
Ron Paul is a genuinely nice, polite, self-effacing individual. He's intense too, but honest and forthright. He truly believes what he says. He is the exact opposite of an establishment politician. He's a regular guy who I think lives before his time.
He would have made an outstanding President back then, and this year too.
4 comments:
That's a great story, Sherman. Ron Paul is truly as you say, living before his time. I can't help but wonder about the legacy that will follow.
I would have loved to meet Ron Paul. My, guess is that his son, Rand, will be his torch bearer. Some day there will be an Austrian economics trained President. Sadly, it probably won't happen in my life time.
I think his legacy will be one of "this guy was right, we should have listened to him."
Everything I know about economics leads me to conclude that we are
heading for a collapse. I wish the Austrians were wrong, but for the
life of me I can't find an error in their reasoning.
I hope you're right about Rand. Let's just hope the Austrian influence takes hold in time. They say Paul Ryan has read Ludwig von Mises. I don't know, however, if it sunk in.
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