Ron Paul Emerges as Formidable GOP Presidential Contender

A picture from the debate showing the episode in which Perry turned to Paul during the break lit up media sites, and the talk began to shift from that debate moment to what Paul stands for and is running for in his presidential bid. Almost overnight, the Texas House Republican became a formidable candidate in the GOP presidential nomination race.

Paul doesn't have a John Wayne-like swagger. He's not the Gipper. And, sagging cheeks often get him posed in pictures with a scowl. Some think he's scowling anyway, since Paul is quite the outspoken political persona, unafraid to speak out on controversial subjects from historic legislation to problems he sees with the Federal Reserve. But he's got something that grabs in this race, and it got noticed in the debate.

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Paul showed he isn't afraid to go after front-runner Perry, who hails from the same state and shares the same political party. Paul and Perry are quite different, however, as Paul points out. Before the debate, for instance, Paul's campaign sent an open-letter to Perry, criticizing the Texas governor's record.

In an open-letter to Perry before the debate, Paul's Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton slammed Perry's record as Governor of Texas. "We don't think the fact that you used to be a Democrat is the big problem here. The real problem is that, too often, you still act like one," Paul's campaign said.

The letter undoubtedly fueled Perry's aggressive move during the debate, but it was Paul who clearly emerged as the winner from the interaction.

A summary of current polling data shows Paul is already solidly in the GOP race, registering an average of about eight to nine percent in polls -- not exactly winning numbers, but he's on the radar.

He's just ahead of Michele Bachmann, a fellow House member from Minnesota who will undoubtedly drop out of the race soon. She's also registering in high single digits, but her campaign is on the the down slope, while Paul is gaining public momentum after his debate performance. Also, when Bachmann officially drops out of the race, many of her supporters are likely to align with Paul, further boosting his poll credentials.

Furthermore, if Palin ultimately does not run, Paul could get a boost from polling holdouts trying to figure out if they want to support her or not. So after this week's debate, Paul has himself firmly entrenched in the GOP presidential race, with a nod to Perry for helping make it happen.