Elsewhere in today’s Morning Jolt:

On the Dusty Trail, Republicans Gallup-ing Closer to Obama
Gallup breaks the news to Democrats: “President Barack Obama is closely matched against each of four possible Republican opponents when registered voters are asked whom they would support if the 2012 presidential election were held today. Mitt Romney leads Obama by two percentage points, 48% to 46%, Rick Perry and Obama are tied at 47%, and Obama edges out Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann by two and four points, respectively.”
The Jammie Wearing Fool chuckles at the rapid revision of conventional wisdom: “Please, lamestream media, keep reminding us how Obama is a shoo-in come 2012. He’s already losing to Mitt Romney, is tied with Rick Perry a week after Perry entered the race, and is barely edging Ron Paul. Ron Paul!”
This would be the same Ron Paul who, when discussing the possibility of the Iranian regime developing a nuclear weapon in the last debate, said, “What’s so terribly bad about this?” In other words, the incumbent with big ears is running neck-and-neck with a candidate whose policy towards Tehran is almost literally, “What, me worry?” I find it all Mad, but it does explain why people say this field could use a neu-man.
One Ron Paul fan who thinks this is a big deal is Reason’s Matt Welch: “Those are just amazing numbers, considering where Ron Paul was four years ago. Speaking of which, the chart below is Exhibit A for why I continue to say that it’s WAAAAY too early to be making confident assertions about the very fluid GOP race, and that if you must anoint a ‘top tier’ it had better include a certain doctor-congressman who performed well in 2008 and has only gathered strength since . . . Missed it by that much, Fred Thompson!”

In 2007, Ron Paul took 9 percent or so in the Ames straw poll; this year he took 27.7 percent. In terms of raw votes, he more than tripled his supporters in Ames. It’s easy to forget that he finished second in nine GOP state primaries and caucuses in 2008 and third in another 15 states. Stances that seemed obscure in 2008, like doubting the judgment of the Federal Reserve or being skeptical of U.S. military action in the Middle East, are much more prominent in Republican circles this time around.

Paul could easily be “top tier” this cycle. But the space between “top tier” and “frontrunner” or “favorite” remains considerable.