That’s how the editorial in today’s Concord (New Hampshire) Monitor newspaper describes the republican candidate. The headline of the piece reads, “Republican Ron Paul livens up GOP debate” and goes on to say that “… he has a Powerball odds or worse of winning the presidency”, and that “… he seems to be running on issues history discarded centuries ago.” It also adds that, though “He is often marginalized as an extremist, …. He is not an angry man, and that’s part of his considerable charm.” How re-assuring. I’d never vote for anyone who was angry.  And charm – what a nice way to describe a candidate who resonates with a good part of the anti-war voters in this country, and who has consistently won debate after debate - according to polls that are never publicized - with the other fools in the Republican race who equivocate on every issue, and advocate more war and mayhem. While throwing him a few platitudes about his “fidelity to the Constitution”, and his “passionate belief in small government, the editorial, in effect, resigns his candidacy to the same realm where the newspaper has cast other “fringe” candidates like Dennis Kucinich, who it regards as lower tier wannabe’s that don’t have chance, and are thereby undeserving any serious journalistic coverage. About a month ago it ran a story about Kucinich’s campaign trip to Concord with a photograph of him and his wife shopping at a local health foods store. The article painted him as a quirky vegetarian, while almost completely ignoring his positions on the issues. To top that off, a week later it ran a pathetic syndicated political cartoon, which portrayed the man as a hopeless idealist. This is from the second largest newspaper in New Hampshire, folks – the one which champions itself as the refreshing, liberal alternative to the Manchester Union Leader – long known for its plodding arch conservatism. Meanwhile we’re subjected day after day to article after article about Clinton, Edwards, Obama, Giuliani, Romney and McCain. Don’t forget that the poor misinformed souls here in this beautiful state take their politics dead seriously, and fight tooth and nail to keep the state’s presidential primary the first in the nation, so as to force candidates to campaign here early and often. Too bad the playing field is already tipped before they ever arrive.