Lexington: The Rand Paul bubble

THREE television crews (one with a drone for aerial shots), a trio of photographers, six reporters, a political aide and two press secretaries travelled to Guatemala last week to watch Rand Paul, an eye doctor, first-term senator from Kentucky and putative presidential contender, conduct pro bono surgery. The medical mission followed a rash of magazine covers and profiles, posing the same question: is the self-described “libertarian-ish” Republican a viable candidate for the White House?That is the wrong question. Lexington would wager against Mr Paul winning the Republican nomination, let alone a general election. As a politician he is ill-disciplined and drawn to absolutist positions, to the right and left of the mainstream. He drafted a plan to balance the budget in five years (by eliminating whole departments and slashing services), opposes all gun controls and is “100%” anti-abortion even in cases of rape and incest. At the same time, he says government spying on phones and e-mails has turned America into a “police state”. A more compelling question concerns the 51-year-old senator’s analysis of politics. He thinks he has spotted a turning point, with voter...

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