The Liberty Papers

Ron Paul is about to begin a major media blitz in New Hampshire:

WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 — If media muscle is any measure of a candidate, Representative Ron Paul of Texas is getting ready to flex his.

In the last two weeks, Mr. Paul — a Republican presidential candidate — has spent nearly a half-million dollars on radio advertisements in four early primary states, the first major media investment of his campaign. On Tuesday night, he will take a seat opposite Jay Leno.

And on Monday, a campaign spokesman said, he will roll out his first major television advertising campaign, spending $1.1 million on five new commercials to be shown in the New Hampshire market for the next six weeks. (In contrast, Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York and a rival for the Republican nomination, has yet to commit to any spending for television advertisements.)

Mr. Paul’s commercials are intended to introduce him to voters in New Hampshire, where independents can vote in either primary and where a libertarian streak could give Mr. Paul a chance to translate his quirky popularity into votes.

This is where the rubber hits the road. Right now, Paul is somewhere between 5% and 7% in the polls in the one state where he’s most likely to garner more support than the conventional wisdom is expected, but with the primary now less than two months away, it’s time to make a move. Check back in about two weeks and we should see if this media campaign has had an impact on the voters.