Ron Paul

The Ukrainian TV personality who tries to out-Borat Borat got what he wanted: face time with Will Smith. In fact, he got more than that. He got face-smacking time. The morning news TV performer -- I won't call him a reporter -- named Vitalii Sediuk was evidently just up to his usual "hey-look-at-me-messing-with-this-famous-person" hijinks when he accosted Smith on the red carpet at the Moscow premiere of "Men in Black III. " Sediuk was wearing camera-glare white among dark-clad journalists as Smith moved along from op to op. Smith seemed fine for a few seconds with what seemed to start as a man-fan hug -- Smith even momentarily patted the guy on the back.

The Ukrainian TV personality who tries to out-Borat Borat got what he wanted: face time with Will Smith. In fact, he got more than that. He got face-smacking time. The morning news TV performer -- I won't call him a reporter -- named Vitalii Sediuk was evidently just up to his usual "hey-look-at-me-messing-with-this-famous-person" hijinks when he accosted Smith on the red carpet at the Moscow premiere of "Men in Black III. " Sediuk was wearing camera-glare white among dark-clad journalists as Smith moved along from op to op. Smith seemed fine for a few seconds with what seemed to start as a man-fan hug -- Smith even momentarily patted the guy on the back.

The last time Nevada Republicans caucused in a presidential contest, they delivered a stunning second-place finish to Texas Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian-minded candidate who had been largely written off, averaging last place in polls leading up to caucus day. The lesson was that Paul may not appeal to a broad base of voters, but the people who like him can be counted on to turn up and disproportionately represent themselves at caucus events, which...

WASHINGTON -- An ambitious effort to launch a third-party presidential ticket this fall has failed to ignite interest, despite the backing of heavyweight political and business leaders and a sophisticated ballot-access program that cost $15 million. On Tuesday, Americans Elect was forced to cancel its third consecutive primary after none of its top potential candidates mustered the minimum support needed to qualify. That leaves the organization in an odd and unprecedented situation: It is already on the general-election ballot in 27 states -- giving it greater reach than the Green Party -- but it may not have a ticket.

Ron Paul took a risky position in Florida in Thursday's debate, calling for communication and diplomatic relations with Cuba, saying that people's positions have changed dramatically over the last few years. Paul said that Cuba isn't going to invade the U.S. any time soon, and that Americans weren't looking under their beds anymore, worried. Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich followed by pledging to continue the economic embargo on Cuba and to take any action short of military invasion to upend the government of Raul Castro.

Defending himself against charges of isolationism, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul told voters in Iowa on Thursday that western sanctions against Iran are "acts of war" that are likely to lead to an actual war in the Middle East. Paul, one of the leading contenders to win next week's Iowa caucuses, said Iran would be justified in responding to the sanctions by blocking the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz.  He compared the western sanctions to a hypothetical move by China to block the Gulf of Mexico, which Americans would consider an act of war. He also said he would not respond militarily to keep the strait open - because he would not consider it an act of war against the U.S.  But if he were president, he would report to Congress on the issue, leaving it up to lawmakers to declare war if they wanted.

Hoping to improve on his third-place finish in the Kansas caucuses in 2008, Ron Paul was scheduled to make three campaign stops on Friday and planned to visit four caucuses on Saturday to deliver five-minute synopses of his libertarian agenda. Citing the nation's wars, its struggling economy and its failing educational system, Paul told more than 400 sign-toting supporters in the state capital: "These problems could be solved by just following the Constitution, and that is what we really need.

Newt Gingrich maintains his record in the private sector did not include lobbying. But rival Ron Paul charged that he had personally profited from taxpayers' money in his work for Freddie Mac. "He was earning a lot of money from Freddie Mac while I was fighting over a decade to try to explain to people where the housing bubble was coming from,” Paul said during the GOP debate in Iowa. "I think you probably got some of our taxpayers' money. " Gingrich and Mitt Romney entered tonight's debate as arguably the two leading candidates.

When Rabbi Shea Harlig took in the packed room at a special evening caucus for Republicans who observe a Saturday sabbath, he couldn't believe his eyes. While it was standing room only, few donned religious garb. "I didn't realize there were so many orthodox Jews and Seventh Day Adventists living in Las Vegas," he said wryly. There aren't. Unless "Ron Paul" is a religion. The Texas congressman's "revolution" stormed a special caucus at a private school in a tony suburb on the edge of Las Vegas, set up by Clark County GOP officials for those who couldn't caucus with the rest of the state Saturday morning for religious reasons.

As the only Republican candidate for president to address Nevada's oldest Latino political organization Wednesday morning, Rep. Ron Paul got high marks for bravery. All were invited; only he showed up. He was cheered by members of Hispanics in Politics when he talked about bringing American troops home from "wars we shouldn't be involved in. "  The audience -- dozens of politically active Latinos who gathered in an eastside community center --  applauded Paul the civil libertarian when he slammed drug laws that unfairly target minorities.  They even cheered his defense of the gold standard.

One day after announcing that he would no longer campaign in states that have yet to hold primaries, officials with Ron Paul's campaign clarified Tuesday that the Texas congressman was not suspending his presidential bid. While Paul recognizes that Mitt Romney is the likely GOP nominee, he is unlikely to endorse his party's standard-bearer and would continue to try to rack up delegates to have sway at the party convention in Florida in August, according...

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details. WASHINGTON -- Intent on taking his presidential campaign all the way to the GOP convention this summer, Texas Rep. Ron Paul has mounted an offensive in key caucus states, swiping would-be delegates from presumed nominee Mitt Romney in an effort to gain relevance in a race that is generally considered over. While there does not appear to be a path for Paul to win the nomination -- or to halt Romney from gaining the delegates he would need to clinch it -- that isn't stopping the Texas congressman's fervent supporters, who see the state delegate selection processes as a do-over opportunity to load state delegations with Paul supporters who could give voice to his message at the convention.

This post has been updated, as indicated below. Rep. Ron Paul(R-Texas) stopped by The Times on Wednesday to chat with the editorial board between rallies on university campuses - his campaign's signature event. Tuesday night Paul was at the Chico campus of California State University, drawing a crowd of 1,000 (the campus newspaper's count ) to 6,000 (Paul's estimate) youthful attendees. He's heading to UCLA next, then to UC Berkeley, where the crowds may be even larger.

Call it a “bloodbath,” call it “mass hysteria,” or just call it a presidential caucus.   Call it what you want, but a day of electoral uncertainty in Missouri has proven what many already knew: The Show-Me State won't be showing its cards in the Republican president-making game any time soon.   “Vote your conscience!” Rick Santorum told a crowd in St. Louis on Saturday morning before hustling off to several other bite-sized campaign stops, all to snipe at Romney and shore up support in a state he'd already swept in a nonbinding February primary.

Responding to a question Tuesday about whether a Newt Gingrich-Rick Santorum ticket was possible, Gingrich offered a vague, but tantalizing answer: "I wouldn't be surprised, once we're through the primaries if it still looks like it does now, to see the conservatives come together. " But the former House speaker, interviewed in the radio studio of "The Rick & Bubba Show," said he thought he would campaign up until the Republicans nominate a presidential candidate. He predicted Mitt Romney would fall short of the delegates needed to win outright and said the convention could be the most exciting since 1940, when no nominee had it locked up. "There's a certain advantage, I think right now, in having both of us tag-team Romney because neither one of us by ourselves can raise the money to match Romney," he said.

Hoping to improve on his third-place finish in the Kansas caucuses in 2008, Ron Paul was scheduled to make three campaign stops on Friday and planned to visit four caucuses on Saturday to deliver five-minute synopses of his libertarian agenda. Citing the nation's wars, its struggling economy and its failing educational system, Paul told more than 400 sign-toting supporters in the state capital: "These problems could be solved by just following the Constitution, and that is what we really need.

Rep. Ron Paul, a Texas Republican, is running for president for a third time. The libertarian-leading congressman said in an interview Friday that voters are increasingly embracing his brand of conservatism “The people are agreeing with much I have been saying for 30 years,” Paul said, making his announcement from Manchester, N.H., on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”  "The time is right. " Paul, 75, who has finished strongly in several Republican straw polls, has an ardent, if small, fan base.

Quietly, and very much under the radar, Ron Paul, the Texas congressman who no pundit believes has a serious chance of winning the Republican presidential nomination, is staging a bit of comeback, returning to his position as a solid No. 3 candidate in the GOP race. According to the USA Today/Gallup poll released on Tuesday, Paul was at 13%, displacing Rep. Michele Bachmann, who fell to 5% and into a three-way dead heat with former House speaker Newt Gingrich and businessman Herman Cain.

Aiming to extinguish Newt Gingrich's campaign and emerge as Mitt Romney's sole rival, Rick Santorum stumped in Topeka, the capital of Kansas, and Wichita, its largest city, on Friday, the day before the state's caucuses and four days before crucial contests in Alabama and Mississippi. "We have an opportunity to potentially narrow this race down so we can go one-on-one with Gov. Romney, and once that happens, the conservative will be nominated," Santorum told about 250 people in the ornate waiting room of a 1927 Union Pacific railroad station.