has ron paul lost?

With disturbing glee, many of my progressive Democrat friends claim Ron Paul has 'lost' and that he should just drop out of the race to avoid embarrassment. What they don't realize is that they've missed what is easily the biggest untold story of the 2008 election, which is that a virtually unknown representative from Texas who is a poor speaker and has received minuscule media coverage (most of which has been condescending, dismissive, and negative) has managed to do the following:

1. Garner more than 1.1 million votes in primaries and caucuses, where significantly less than the dismal 50% of the potential voting population even bothers to vote in the general Presidential election.
2. Received more than 10% of the vote in 12 states, more than 15% of the vote in 7 states (4 of which were long after Super Tuesday), and more than 20% of the vote in 4 states (2 of which were long after Super Tuesday).
3. Written an astonishingly good book that is currently #5 on the New York Times Bestseller list (after debuting at #1 the first week of its release.

The major candidates is both parties fail to acknowledge a growing demographic of people that demand an end to American imperialism (we have military presences in over 100 countries!), a real commitment to restoring and preserving civil liberties no matter what's going on in the world or the dangers we face, and a government that stops interfering with our personal lives and has turned our economy into an unfair playing field, where our tax dollars are redirected to the big, powerful companies at the expense of prosperity (for all), innovation, and the health and well-being of our citizens.

Either major candidate would do well to pay attention to what the media has spent the last year ignoring. Get the Ron Paul supporters on your side and you'll win the election. If they're not on your side, they will NOT vote for you, because neither of the candidates represent the change that we need and represent the desires of a majority of Americans.

Here's what we will do instead:

1. Vote for Bob Barr
2. Vote for Ralph Nader
3. Write-in Ron Paul

If #1 and #2 sound completely bizarre to you, because they are so diametrically opposed on 'wedge' issues that no one actually cares about, you're missing the point. People want peace, prosperity, freedom, and a fair level-playing field for everyone. People have the guts and principles to stand up for what they believe in, despite being ridiculed, despite being falsely blamed for 'messing up' elections, and despite the most pessimistic accusation of 'wasting our votes'. To whoever loses the next election, it's your own fault, not the people that voted for people with integrity and character.