Ron Paul, And The Long Haul

The nature of the rules dictates the strategy. If you have proportional allocation rules in a Presidential primary, you get much different kinds of campaigns than if you have winner-take-all rules.

In 2008, Barack Obama's people understood the Democratic Party's proportional allocation rules better than Hillary Clinton's people did. Her media-oriented strategy wasn't attuned to the rules, and wasn't sufficient to derail Obama's more-methodical pursuit of delegates.

In contrast, the Republican Party primary campaign of 2008 didn't look at all like the Democratic Party's campaign, because the GOP's winner-take-all rules dictated a completely-different, more media-oriented strategy. Kamikaze John McCain understood the rules better than anyone else, borrowed heavily, gambled everything he had, and won!

This year, the GOP primary also has proportional allocation rules, which gives candidates with less access to media some hope of success, provided they have sufficient cash to weather the primary season. It suggests that an Obama-like approach might work this time around in the GOP primary.

Ron Paul might just succeed with this strategy:

In a far cry from his ragtag 2008 effort, Ron Paul is looking beyond the traditional early state contests and gearing up for a long primary slog that lasts at least through Super Tuesday.

...The Texas congressman’s long-haul approach is designed to take advantage of new GOP proportional allocation rules that enable candidates to amass delegates without finishing in first place, and to leverage the unique attributes of his campaign — an intensely loyal following and a steady flow of money that will likely enable him to continue for as long as he chooses.

...As of the fundraising quarter that ended Sept. 30, Paul had raised more than $12 million, the bulk of in small donations. Few others in the field can claim an ongoing donor base to raise money from once voting starts winnowing out the candidates.

...He’s put together a more professional team this time around, with a traditional campaign structure. He has spent more than $2 million on ads, including a national cable buy on Fox News, which helped elevate his standing in the latest numbers in Iowa. He’s also been highlighting lesser-examined aspects of his positions, like his opposition to abortion, in an effort to woo social conservatives.