Liberty Maven

An interesting read about McCain’s worry that Ron Paul will spoil his Iowa showing.

Des Moines, Iowa - GOP presidential candidate John McCain is deeply worried that his resurgent national campaign may be stalled by a relatively strong showing in tonight’s Iowa caucuses by the iconoclastic Ron Paul.

The Arizona senator’s campaign told the HuffPost that their candidate is concerned that Paul will finish third behind front-runners Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney.

McCain, whose campaign floundered earlier in the year, has been showing renewed strength in the battle to win the key New Hampshire primary next week. His national numbers have also been rising and one respected poll now has him in first place.

Read the rest at the Huffington Post.

For Ron Paul to have a good shot at the GOP nomination there is one requirement for tonight’s Iowa Caucus:

Beat John McCain

The media (especially FOX News) is playing up McCain’s comeback and is suggesting that Fred Thompson will throw his support behind McCain if Thompson himself does not do well in Iowa. Since McCain is the new media darling, it is dreadfully important that Ron Paul finish ahead of him in the Iowa Caucus. If he does this, it should help turn the tide of the media to talking about Ron Paul beating McCain and likely Giuliani as well.

Ron Paul finishing in 3rd place should accomplish this. In fact if he finishes third he will most likely have beaten McCain, Thompson, and Giuliani. That would be the news story tomorrow. To put it simply, whomever finishes 3rd in Iowa will be the next media sensation and should springboard them to have an effective primary campaign, starting with New Hampshire next Tuesday.

This is why it is extremely important for Ron Paul to finish third. Doing so will prove that the polls do not represent his true support. Doing so will show that he is a real player in seeking the GOP nomination.

If he finishes 4th or below his campaign will not be “over”, but it will likely then be all about the message rather than a real shot at the nomination. That coveted 3rd place spot will be where all the attention goes and in my opinion Ron Paul needs to finish there. Will he do it? The answer will be known later tonight.

If you happen to be in Iowa, please choose liberty and caucus for Ron Paul tonight.