Perhaps the tradition of E.L. Godkin is not completely dead at the Nation.

Though he respectfully disagrees with Ron Paul on several issues, such as cutting entitlements, John Nichols offers strong overall praise:

.....Paul's willingness to defend civil liberties without apology, to criticize dictators and the U.S. policies that support them, to call for bringing troops home, to attack the military-industrial complex and to condemn bank bailouts and crony capitalism is not just on target. It's compelling.

If Democrats are interested in identifying themselves as anything more potent than a kinder, gentler variation on mainstream Republicanism, if they recognize that drab managerialism does not excite the American people, if they want not only to win elections but to make those wins mean something, they should borrow the best lines from Ron Paul's text.