Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, said this morning that he will stay in the presidential race until the Republican convention, but said he expects other candidates to seek his endorsement; noting, for that matter, that Newt Gingrich was “playing up” to him in the last debate in order to improve his chances of getting Paul’s support.
“No, we’re going to stay in and see what comes of it,” Paul answered when CNN’s Candy Crowley asked if he would drop out if it became impossible for him to earn enough delegates to win the nomination. “And who knows what will come of the other two candidates. You know, there’s been lots of ups and downs. So maybe there will be some downs and we might be able to pick up the pieces.”
Paul said he did not know how his opponents, who he said “have their ear to the political noise,” might earn his endorsement at the convention, but he believes that Gingrich is already making an effort. “Newt is, you know, coming around on the monetary issues and really, you know, playing up and trying to appeal to us,” he said.
He suggested that Gingrich’s praise for the signature Ron Paul monetary policy is a move partially motivated by political convenience. “I don’t know what’s in his heart or his mind,” Paul said of Gingrich. “But I think the politics of it all — of it reflects the fact even if he believed it and thought it was still a crazy idea to quit printing money when you need it, he wouldn’t say it. But evidently he probably has a belief that it does make sense and there’s a political block out there.”
