Ron Paul

Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul has a couple of things going for him at this weekend's Republican caucuses: a band of highly motivated supporters and a natural appeal to Maine's like-minded independents. His stop in the state earlier this week also made him the only presidential contender from either party to visit before the caucuses. "I think that [because] he's paid attention to Maine, he'll be rewarded," R. Kenneth Lindell, Paul's campaign coordinator in Maine, said Thursday.

As far as John McCain is concerned, the Republican presidential nomination is a done deal and the party is united behind him. But thousands of Republicans -- particularly supporters of Texas Rep. Ron Paul -- aren't buying that. In the Pennsylvania primary, more than 215,000 Republicans cast ballots for Paul or former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who together captured 27% of the vote. And that was tame compared with the uproar last weekend at Nevada's Republican Party Convention.

The "Ron Paul Revolution" isn't over until Ron Paul says it's over. And he's not done yet. Amid reports that Paul would formally end his presidential campaign, the iconoclastic Texas Republican congressman instead told supporters Thursday night that he intended to lead a "Campaign for Liberty" movement to give libertarians a bigger say within the GOP. During his campaign over the last year, "something happened . . .

Ron Paul, a nine-term Texas congressman who describes himself as a lifelong libertarian, announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination in Houston. Paul said he was at first reluctant to run, but that "a lot of people want to hear my message and I'm willing to deliver it."

One of the goals of political campaigning is to contrast yourself with opponents. Sometimes it's overtly contrasting policies. Sometimes, as with the Mitt Romney campaign, it can be playing up your own seemingly idyllic family to contrast with someone else's troubled one like, say, the thrice-married Rudy Giuliani, whose son isn't talking to him. Clearly, Giuliani is driving home a bit of contrasting himself these days.

ONE is a Democrat, the other a Republican. They've never met but share much in common: Both wear dark suits and sneakers, for one. Neither has a lot of money. Both are running for president. Mike Gravel and Ron Paul. Mike and Ron. Their names, sharing space at the bottom of the polls, seem increasingly linked. Each came out swinging in the debates and scored points for candor and quirkiness and, in Gravel's case, crankiness.

Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney used his own wealth to out-raise Rudolph W. Giuliani in the third quarter -- but the top Republicans continued to lag behind their Democratic counterparts in money raised. Romney has poured more than $17 million of his own money into his campaign this year -- $8.5 million of that this quarter. According to reports released Thursday, Romney brought in $10 million from others in the third quarter; Giuliani raised $11 million from others.

Stephanie Burns and Ben Parkinson strolled down sun-drenched Fillmore Street with political thievery on their minds. Both are grass-roots volunteers for Republican presidential contender Ron Paul, a Texas congressman whose libertarian views might seem to make him a tough sell in this legendarily left-wing city.

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, aided by an extraordinary outpouring of Internet support Monday, hauled in more than $4.2 million in nearly 24 hours. Paul's total deposed Mitt Romney as the single-day fundraising record holder in the Republican presidential field. When it comes to sums amassed in one day, Paul now ranks behind only Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.