Which Paul for president?By: CNN's Rebecca Stewart
(CNN)- Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul makes his first stop in Iowa on Saturday, home of the first-in-the-nation presidential caucus. Paul, son of two-time presidential candidate Ron Paul, will be holding two signing events for his book, "The Tea Party Goes to Washington," but remained vague on which Paul will run for president in 2012.
"We haven't talked about it that much," he told Radio Iowa, in an interview Saturday. "I've told people that the only decision I've made is that I wouldn't run against him."
Congressman Ron Paul has not committed to a third bid for the Republican presidential nomination, but his son said, "I think that the signs I see of his travel and where he's going and how much he has been going lead me to think he might be interested in running again…even if he does, I want to be part of the process in some way."
The senator scoffed at potential criticism over his lack of experience, noting that it didn't hurt Obama and saying, "Lincoln was elected with two years experience as a congressman 15 years before he ran for president. Obama, I think, announced he was running 43 days into his term."
Then-Senator Obama actually announced his bid for the presidency on February 10, 2007, two years and one month after taking office in January of 2005.
"I think people can make any criticism they want and whether it's valid or not, I think that's the winnowing process that goes through a primary," Paul continued.
Drawing on his "passion to try to fix the problems in our country before it's too late," Paul asserted that he sees a "shorter time line," than 15 or 20 years when it comes to the presidential call to serve, mainly because "there's no money left."
"Is it just good for a country to continually spend beyond their means?" he asked.
And Paul's critique of the nation's spending habits isn't restricted to Democrats. "I see it as not just a Democrat/Republican problem. I think Republicans are part of the problem as well," he said.
Singling out the "entitlement program for prescription drugs," Paul called out his party peers, saying "Republicans are 100 percent against ObamaCare, but the vast majority of them voted for the prescription drug program."
The freshman senator wrote his book on the Tea Party in an attempt to chronicle the movement, which he believes will play a major role in deciding the 2012 GOP nominee for president. It was released in February by Center Street, an imprint of Hachette Book Group.
Planned Iowa events include a book signing in Ames, home of the Iowa Straw Poll scheduled in August, a statewide barometer of whom Iowa Republicans will select for the party nomination.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/02/which-paul-for-president/#more-152571
