Ron Paul forms exploratory committee

Yesterday at the Holiday Inn near DSM - that is Des Moines International Airport - Ron Paul announced he was forming an exploratory committee. Paul's announcement puts him in line to participate in the May 5th South Carolina GOP debate, which is being limited to candidates who have either formally announced or formed an exploratory committee.

Dave Weigel points out that Ron Paul's ideological and intellectual consistency will make it harder for other 2012 candidates to steal Paul's 2008 thunder. Libertarian leaners like Gary Johnson or anyone talking about reining in the Fed will, at best, be saying things that Paul has been saying for decades.

Presumably Paul has a strong base of grassroots donors left over from 2008 who can fuel his campaign with money bombs. But with his lack of credibility with social conservatives and the general refusal of Beltway pundits to take him as a Serious candidate, it's hard to imagine him really getting the momentum to win the nomination.

I would also presume that since his father is running, Rand Paul is now definitively out as a candidate for the 2012 nomination.