57% of AOL Respondents Say Ron Paul Has Chance of Winning GOP

Following an astonishing fund raising effort that brought in another $4.2 million to the Ron Paul campaign for this last quarter of 2007, AOL readers were asked to vote whether Dr. Paul could win the GOP nomination.  At press time Tuesday evening, 57% said "YES".  12,012 people responded favorably while another 6,790 said he does not stand a chance.  2,213 were unsure.

One thing was for sure, Ron Paul can no longer be thought of as a second tier or even third tier candidate to win the 2008 US Presidency. 

David Knowles, a political commentator for AOL.com had this to say:

"The astonishing total suddenly has people wondering: Is this guy for real? Though he may not win the Republican nomination, his candidacy can no longer be written off as "the longest of long shots." He's raising top-tier money, and attracting thousands of new supporters every week, in part due to a strong performance on the Tonight Show (see below). Much to the disdain of the GOP establishment, one thing has become certain about Mr. Paul, he will have an effect on the race."

Greg McNeilly had a good post about Mr. Paul's transparent approach to fundraising and spending, and it underlines a central aspect of the Texas congressman's appeal.

"With "Dr. No," as Paul is known, you know what you're going to get. He's certainly not a flip-flopper."

Ron Paul is known as "Dr. No" based on his tendency to vote against most spending bills.

Fans of online poker have taken a liking to Ron Paul for his stand against legislation that made the game technically "illegal" though there is currently a group challenging this law in court.  Dr. Paul voted against the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, one of the few in Congress to do so. 

Ron Paul remained at 6-1 odds of winning the 2008 Presidential race at Sportsbook.com.  The New York Times Freakonomics section references Gambling911.com on Tuesday.

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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher

Originally published November 6, 2007 5:44 pm ET