Paulistas or RePaulutionaries?

I do not know who is more ridiculous, Ron Paul or the motley squad of disaffected whackos that support him. Now I grant you that the Money Bomb on Guy Fawkes Day was pretty damn creative if a little weird but their latest gimmick is really, really odd, even for this crowd. You see (and a big ‘ol tip of the hat to Tom Tomorrow), there is an effort underway to raise enough cash to commission the Ron Paul for President Blimp O’ Freedom. Even better, the organizers wish to fly it to Boston on Dec. 16th in commemoration of the Boston Tea Party. I swear to God, every time I come across the Paul campaign, I catch a whiff of gunpowder and sedition. I wish I were kidding. So without further ado, let’s plunge headlong into the deep pool of insanity that is Operation Overstated Dramatic Effect.

A blimp? A blimp!

Imagine.. the mainstream media is mesmerized as the image of the Ron Paul blimp is shown to tens of millions of Americans throughout the day (and throughout the month). Wolf Blizter, stunned and as if in a trance, repeats the words "Amazing, Amazing".

As GPS co-ordinates stream to the website a map shows the Ron Paul blimp's location in real time. The local television stations broadcast its every move. The curious flock together and make a trip to see history in the making. Emails with pictures are sent, then forwarded, then forwarded again. Youtube videos go viral and reach tens of millions of views. Ron Paul becomes the first presidential candidate in history to have his very own blimp. The PR stunt generates millions upon millions of dollars worth in free publicity, and captures the imagination of America.

Now, I don’t doubt for a minute the sincerity of this operation but I think they may be overestimating the power of a big white balloon on a jaded electorate or even a “stunned” Wolf Blitzer. And as Greg Saunders pointed out, the last blimp that made any sort of impression on the American people was the Hindenburg – not exactly a winner in the word association game. Indeed, the only thing this stunt may capture is the imagination of America’s humorists and standup comics. So in that spirit, I hope they succeed because I can always use a good laugh, provided I am not “in a trance”.