Jack Junter
Ron Paul’s Monday appearance on The Daily Show proved once again that Jon Stewart is a fair interviewer with journalistic integrity—something the comedian regularly displays far more often than many conventional reporters. I’ve always admired Stewart even when I disagree with him because, generally, he is intellectually serious, asking substantive questions and berating Right and Left accordingly. Stewart’s conversations with Paul last night both on camera and backstage reflected this same temperament, and he was a heck of a nice guy to boot.
When the Congressman arrived at Webster Hall after his Daily Show interview, the city’s largest nightclub was sold out—as 1,862 admirers chanted Ron Paul’s name throughout the night. It was an honor to emcee the event, and speakers Murray Sabrin, Karen Kwiatkowski, Dan Halloran, Peter Schiff and musician Jordan Page kept the crowd entertained until the main event.
And let us discuss the main event. I’ve heard Ron Paul speak many times, and even the Congressman himself has wondered why so many continue to show up to hear him deliver the same message time and again. But deep down he knows why. We all do.
It’s the message.
In a body politic typically defined by bipartisan buffoonery, Paul’s honesty and genuineness shine through. This registers with countless Americans who are tired of being lied to. Integrity counts. This is similar to my view of self-described liberal Jon Stewart, who I can appreciate for his consistent straightforwardness, even though I’m a conservative.
But Paul’s message itself: Limited government, sound money, a more prudent foreign policy—the Founding Father’s old ideas about good government are fresh and new to a generation stuck with a glaringly bad one. More Americans than ever are realizing that the unsustainable situation we endure today, of debt, deficits and all the rest, is due precisely to our rejection of constitutional principles. Lessons not learned, the Democrats continue to promise a better socialism, and too many Republicans continue to offer little more than a slightly lesser version of the Democrats’ agenda.
But Ron Paul promises a better individualism, more freedom, more liberty, and, in a word—hope.
This hope for a better future, a more American America even, continues to inspire. As Paul often says, it is more about the message than the man, but this doesn’t mean that throngs of Americans can’t enthusiastically appreciate the messenger.
And last night in New York City, 1,862 people did.
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