Brain Trust - Matt Barber

Matt Barber is Director of Cultural Affairs with Liberty Counsel and also serves as Associate Dean with Liberty University School of Law. He joined the Brain Trust segment of the show to talk about Ron Paul. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview.

Tell us about your recent article on Ron Paul.

It's in the Washington Times. The article is titled "Ron Paul's Presidential Dance: Cute, But Unstable."

Basically, I'm pointing out and hopefully alerting conservatives and Christian evangelicals that Ron Paul is a likable guy, but no conservative.

Ronald Reagan had his "three-legged stool" of conservatives: strong national defense, strong social values, and strong economic values.

Ron Paul is strong on economic values, I will give him that. But he is a social liberal, and he's a pacifist; essentially, an isolationist.

Is his economic policy the reason he's leading in Iowa?

I will give him that. On the economic issues, he makes a lot of sense. He is resonating with people because of the dire straits we find ourselves in economically.

But he goes completely off the rails when he talks about radical Islam, especially in Iran. Where you stand on economics kind of becomes a moot point.

What about the allegations that he's a racist?

That will sink him, I think. He has an active, devoted base of supporters. He may win the Iowa caucuses, but strange things happen in Iowa.

I think the GOP establishment is freaking out, thinking that if Ron Paul wins, their credibility is sunk.

This presidential race has been, if nothing else, all over the board. This week and next week may be Ron Paul's 15 minutes. But when the dust settles, I think clearer heads will prevail.

But hey, it's getting exciting. It's fun to watch, no doubt about it.