It does not surprise me that Ron Paul has put himself out there as a straight forward, honest ,common sense person. I grew up with Ron in Pittsburgh and knew everyone of his parents, uncles and siblings and he is just a perfect clone of his relatives. What you see and hear is what you get and no hidden adjenda or greed. Thank God for the likes of Ron Paul in our country and Washington that put country over party, Thanks Ron.

Duh! That is what is called common sense. I can't believe common sense has made it this far in the campaign.

James, you are correct. I have no chance of getting the GOP nomination, but then I'm not running for the office. Mr. Paul is.

Your discription implies that discussion of private lives requires explicate intimate details. The situation is much broader than that. I can discussion shopping for shoes with my wife and how boring that can be. If a homosexual discusses something as innocuos as shopping with their same sex life partner I can guarantee the discussion is not going to be treated in the same manner.

I have also honored my country by serving in the United States Navy. You could not be further from truth when you say service members are not supposed to discuss their private lives. Every time we pulled into port family members were invited to tour the ship. My department officer had bar-b-ques inviting everyone and their family. I'm sure if a member of our team brought their same sex life partner on board the ship they would in no way be treated the same as a heterosexual individual.

David from Arizona, you also have no chance of getting the GOP nomination. So I guess your opinion matters very little as well. I served in the Air Force form 2000-2004 and No one is supposed to talk about their private life if it is offensive to others regardless of being homosexual or heterosexual. It works both ways. If a person is offended by something that is said then they report it and it is taken care of. Don't you think it might be offensive to a woman if I described my sexual life with my wife or some other woman? OK then.

Everyone I talk to Loves Ron Paul. Why is no one listening!!! checkout all the groups forming at meetup.com

Look what's happening with Ron Paul 2008 Meetups!

5,963 Ron Paul Supporters in 229 Groups from 212 Cities

…and 2,529 more waiting to hear when a new Meetup starts!

Ron Paul would make a fine president.

What's disturbing to me is that the so-called "Top-Tier" candidates from both party's are getting preferential treatment. US Representative Ron Paul from Texas is also an Obstetrician. Doesn't it make sense to ask Dr. Paul about important issues like: Abortion, Stem Cell Research, Immigration and Border Patrol???

Ron Paul's answer is misleading and everyone knows it. As Paul describes the situation the topic is disruptive behavior and individual rights. The reality is that a heterosexual who discusses their life partner, whether is be a wife or husband, is free to do so without reprocussions. If a homosexual discusses their life partner the behavior is disruptive and should be dealt with.

How can anyone say with a straight face the issue is not about homosexuality. Paul pandered to the audience and the audience ate it up with a giant spoon.

The only savings grace is that Ron Paul has absolutely no chance of getting the GOP nomination so his opinion matters very little.

Ron Paul clearly stands head and shoulders above the other GOP candidates. Ron Paul in '08!

This man is a leader!

Telling your people the truth and preparing them to deal with it.

CNN you put on a good show, but what a biased manipulation.

Stop the censorship of Ron Paul anybody who censors Dr Ron Paul is helping destroy america. Think about it…..

Ron Paul is the only candidate who would have the guts to turn this nation around. CNN and all other networks are trying to keep him down and tactfully giving him as little time as possible at the debates. But he still won tha first two by a landslide, so what does CNN do ? They have no poll. If they gave him half the coverage of the so called front runners, he would win hands down. The people know truth when they hear it. CNN your credibility is being destroyed, it is so obvious that it will backfire on you. Most Trusted Name in News. Give me a Break !

When I think of the Republican Party when it comes to gay and lesbian issues, I think of a political party that is very Homophobic and truly scared of homosexuals.

Absolutely correct. What is wrong about most of the candidates in both parties is their belief that government should be regulatling every aspect of every person's life. Rep. Paul is correct that the army can control disruption but should not be practicing discrimination on the basis of group identification

Was undecided, now I know, Ron Paul. And Fred Thompson? He was mediocre when in Congress, why would he be any better as Pres.? Again, Ron Paul, WOW! For those without rose-colored glasses, he's The Man. Consistancy is nice.

When will the republicans join the rest of normal society and accept the fact that gays exist, that many are smart, caring, talented, patriotic, and deserve the right to serve their country like every other normal citizen.

As far as I'm concerned CNN is so biased it's criminal. They did the same thing during the Democratic debate. They focused on the top 3, gave some time to tier 2 and almost shut-out tier 3. It's so obvious that the MSM is trying to control our thinking by pushing their 'picks'. Ron Paul one the last debate and he won this one. He's honest and believes the "Constitution" is more than a "God Damn piece of paper"!

It sounds great to say that behavior that is disruptive, homosexual or hetrosexual, will be dealt with the same. I have a hard time believing that. If a guy & a girl walk down the street holding hands they are showing thier love for each other.However; if two people of the same sex walk down the street holding hands they are 'flaunting their sexuality'. Until we get rid of the fear of gays will we never treat 'gays' & 'straights' the same

The only problem with this argument is that undoubtedly lesbian and gay individuals will be more "disruptive" because of the military's tolerance for these individuals, thus although I agree with the premiss of this statement, further action needs to be taken to insure that heterosexual and homosexual individuals receive the same treatment.

God given rights not group rights.

Ron Paul is right on track. We are a collective group of individuals. You go Ron Paul! You are the only one "worth" my time. Thank you for having the courage to run for President. We need you!!!

I have to agree with Ron Pauls answer. It was simplistic yet straight to the point like all his answers. If were all created equal, then why even have a document that says we are. He doesn't try and sell you BS scripted answers like Bush. This man shoots straight from the hip and his voting record proves it. Ron Paul you have my vote and my support!

What a wonderful answer and a great idea!
Why do people like to group others? Woman, man, gay, straight, hispanic, white, black…who cares??? Every one should be judged by character. This response by Ron Paul reflects his rational, wisdom and logic.

Ron Paul 2008!

There does'nt seem to be anything that I disagree with about Ron Paul. His vision for America is like a sweet dream. With our help Ron Paul can bring hope and joy back to America.

Brilliant response.
Ron Paul is absolutely right.

I don't agree that the "Don't Tell" policy is a good policy, but I did agree with Ron Paul's other point about behaviors being dealt with.

I am not a Christian. I am not a Republican. I would vote for Ron Paul, even before any of the Democratic candidates, because he looks to The Constitution FIRST for his position on any given issue. I am going to change my party affiliation so that I can vote in the primary and vote for Ron Paul for the nomination.

god bless ron paul. The voice of truth rings true

Reasoned and intelligent as usual for Dr. Paul. This man lives in the real world with the rest of us!

Ron Paul shows "forward-thinking" leadership. The irony, of course, is that most of his beliefs are heavily influenced by those of our founding fathers, which tells you a thing or two about the other "conservatives."

To the gentleman who is buying into media hype about Ron Paul supporters "assault[ing] internet sites," please keep in mind that early examination has shown that the support for Rep. Paul is simply wide-spread amongst internet-users as a group. One could also point out that many of his supporters (myself included) are frustrated that the internet is our only real outlet for support. We, his supporters, are doing a pretty decent, albeit normative, content analysis of Ron Paul media coverage and it seems to indicate 2nd tier candidates are not being dealt with fairly.

A very cogent and accurate statement. Deal with the behavior. No one should have special rights because of what they do.

What I like about Ron Paul is he is going after root causes of systematic problems rather than treating the symptoms. Politicians are notorious for focusing on things that don't matter, and I love Ron's perspective on things. He is looking at fundamental change, actually getting back to Constitutional principles. Ron Paul in 2008.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell implemented by Clinton is a good and fair policy.

As McCain said…it is working. Leave it alone.

Good compromise, does not all gays to impede on the military, while letting them serve if they keep it to themselves.

Paul gave a perfect answer.

In 2004 we saw that homely hillbilly woman from West Virginia in the kinky Abu Ghraib photos, knocked up by her commanding officer. Gee, I guess Ron Paul's right, some heterosexual behaviors might be just as disruptive of the chain of command and lead to favoritism (and evidently to really sordid behavior) as homosexual behaviors.

I was extremely impressed with Ron Paul's well thought out answers. I find myself wanting to look deeper into his campaign, background and platform.

I was chatting with a long time friend of mine during the debate, who happens to be a homosexual and an Obama supporter. Before i could even type "what did you think of that?", he responded with "wow, what an awesome answer"

Ron Paul ….the Champion of the Constitution. The only canidate that I personally will turn out to vote for.

It is quite interesting that most of the Republican candidates think they can win by excluding and disliking a large portion of the American population, i.e. the homosexual population. It is as if they only want to preside over part of the American population, and they could care less what happens to the part(s) of the population they don't care for.

This is a law that originally was implements for all the right reasons. However, there are a disproportionate number of gays that have been discharged as compared to their heterosexual counterparts. This law is a failure and should, in all fairness, be scrapped.

I watched the debate and Ron Paul was one of the only candidates that hit the issues dead on. Why are we worrying so much about this issue? If gays can perform just as well or better than a straight guy, then they should be allowed to openly serve. The federal gov. does not need to be in charge of this. Generals and those who know more about the situation should decide.

Homosexuality IS the issue. That is why the military Uniform Code of Justice is written the way it is. Heterosexuality has NEVER been the issue in the entire history of mankind.

Dr. Paul was honest, I found it a bit disturbing that Wolf Blitzer didn't allow Ron Paul very much airtime. Ron Paul was the only respectful canidate up there, he didn't argue with Wolf and talk over him. However, I did notice Wolf constantly cut him short way earlier than the other canidates.

I would go so far as to say that Dr. Paul recieved only 50% of the airtime that Rudolph Guiliani did. I think there should be a buzzer initiated for these debates, and if they do not stop talking they lose time off their next question. They could then weigh in properly on what they thought was most important by overstaying their welcome on their strongpoints, and cutting short their weakpoints…or staying balanced.

Please CNN, take my advice..it would make things seem less skewed in favor of one canidate over the other.

Dr. Paul was very honest, and conscise in his answers and did not go off on emotional and personal tangents like many of the other canidates did. I still like Dr. Paul's message in comparison to the other canidates and he has my vote in the Primary.

Thank you.

Discrimination against gays in any other profession is not allowed, so why should it be any different in the US military.

Gays are permitted to openly serve in other professions where the lives of others are on the line (ie. Policemen and Firefighters)

Ron Paul is incredible. He gets my vote for sure after winning all 3 debates.

Pauls comments on Gays in the military is a sensible one, who cares what sexual orientation a soldier has when bullets are flying, the question is are competent to serve ???

Ron Paul nails it on the head when he bases peoples' rights and value in the fact that they were all made by the same creator. More and more in government today, the State wants us to believe that we have rights because the State grants them to us. But we have rights and values because of our common humanity and the value God gives to each person He made. We discard that concept to our peril.

I think Ron Paul had did the best out of all of them with the 5 mins he was able use. Vote Ron Paul if you want change and to live in the America we once knew. Otherwise vote for one of the other that would just continue the bush policy.

Again, Ron Paul is like the Godfather of the other candidates. They are all starting to sway towards Ron Paul's lead. Gays? Who the hell cares when it comes to performing? I don't like to hang out with gays, but when it comes to doing a job – let the best person do it! Labeling does not help and my oppinion does not constitute government action. My oppinion is mine and oppinions should not control the lives of people other than myself. Are we not all granted personal liberty by our creator? Vote for Ron Paul and you are voting for freedom and equality. Ron Paul has again lead the debate. I wish to see him debate the Democrat candidate or anyone else.

Ron Paul is right again.

Every other civilized country allows gays to fight and die for the values for which their country stands. This does not include Islamic nations for sure. The USA alone, among Nations who believe in reason and individual rihgts, has an issue with this question. Are we no better than the people we are fighting?
It is absurd for a nation founded upon each individuals right to pursue happiness–not a christian hapiness or an Islamic happiness or a whatever happiness, but the individual's hope for happiness–to irrationally discriminate based upon a person's own unique desire for consenual sexual gratification. We lost 9,000 soldiers, 9,000 dedicated Americans, to discrimination because of their sexual predilictions. This is ridiculous.
Are we our founder's children or not?

Reason feels good. Out of the voraceous pack of presidental candidates only Ron Paul seems to give reason any consideration. That's why regardless of party lines, he's the only person to be nominated that I can support, and still sleep comfortably at night.

It's not up to them what we want or need. It's up to us. Does anyone but Ron Paul look likely to leave us alone and let us choose our own lives, for better or worse? I thought not.

I think Ron Paul describes "don't ask, don't tell" as "a decent policy" because of thinking in terms of group rights instead of individual rights. If we thought in terms of individual rights, gays and lesbians serving in the military would be no problem.

Paul is absolutely right, it's not a matter of homosexuality. But is't not a matter of human rights across the board, either. It's a matter of right and wrong. Within each of us is ingrained the morals of right and wrong according to the One Who established good and evil. The Truth of it is simple, we were designed to be with only one person of the opposite gender, the gender they were born with. Anything different is blatant rejection of one's purpose and design and, calls for judgement. It is important for us to realize that loving the person is one thing, accepting, even condoning their lifestyle is quite another. One thing is certain, I will not support a man with such an answer as he gave to this topic. Remember: freedom is not the right to do what we want, but the power within to do what we ought.

I think he is right.

Ron Paul's consistency is something to be desired. What a fantastic candidate. This response was one of my favorites tonight.

Dr. Paul is the only level headed person in the debate. He says people should be treated equally and hes right. Long live Dr. Paul!!!

Yet again, Ron Paul see's the forest through the trees. I am sick of people branding people and marginalizing them. People are people and if all are treated fairly, there wouldn't be a problem in the first place.

I felt Ron Paul had the best response to this question, and I agree with Mike Huckabee, at least to a degree, that we should allow the military to establish its policy on this and other issues. However, I don't understand why someone like Ron Paul didn't raise his hand to support changng this policy. Maybe I don't understand the nature of the policy, but I am guessing that the objection by civil liberties groups has less to do with the "Don't ask" part of the policy than the "Don't tell" part. In fact, I'd guess it's entirely the latter part. Granted, an interview for any position shouldn't include this question, no more than we can be asked what our religion is when applying for a position. But if I were to volunteer that I am a Lutheran, then that also should not be cause for not hiring me. In like manner, I think gay people want the freedom to 'admit' that they are gay and not have that cost their job. If soldiers have recently lost their positions in the military [and assuming it was NOT for misconduct] simply because they were gay, and if this is considered permissible under the current policy, then it seems this policy is very contradictory to the American ideal of civil rights. I thought Joe Biden had the best answer overall to this question the other night. If you have a British soldier next to you, and he's gay, and he's got our back, he's your best friend right then, and you'd be awfully mad if policy dicated he could not be there at that moment to protect you. Ron Paul seemed to be perhaps the most reasonable GOP candidate, except for a bit of inconsistency on this issue. I hope he isn't fearing the GOP has a litmus test on this issue. And I certainly hope they don't, either.

Ron Paul is right on the money with not only the homosexuality question but ever other he was asked. Ron Paul was outstanding.

Ron Paul did a great job. Although he had probably the least amount of questions, he made sense, he made the most of them, and believe it or not, he actually answered them. He definitely should be our President.

Rep. Paul is absolutely right on target with this issue. This was easily the most direct answer of the night from any of the candidates. Very nicely done.

Every time I here Ron Paul speak I want to hear more from him.

He says 'don't ask, don't tell' is a decent policy. I agree.

Ron Paul needs more time to speak CNN! You guys are not doing a debate the way it should be done…

ron paul is right it is not a homosexual issue.

Paul is absolutely right. Grouping and tagging individuals is the foundation of racism and other forms of prejudice. We ought to consider everyone a unique individual.

Without a doubt the most thoughtful and common sense answer that I have heard from any candidate in either party.

Dr. Ron Paul's response included the smartest policy I've heard from a politician about this issue:

“If there is homosexual behavior in the military that is disruptive, it should be dealt with. But if there’s heterosexual sexual behavior that is disruptive, it should be dealt with."

That is the best response be far.

I could not vote on the Political Ticker poll…..
It seems to be malfunctioning for me.

So I wish to reveal my vote quite publicly….

Ron Paul has my support! And in my opinion, wins the debate.

Hilary said it best the other night, Don't Ask, Don't Tell was the best compromise they could come up with 15 years ago. But now its time has come and they need to drop all restrictions on gays serving in the armed services.

Ron Paul is absolutly correct.We are all gods children.

The USA is the only country in the western world that does not allow gays to serve in the military. I have heard of no problems in other countries

Hooray

Ron Paul was correct. Stop treating gays as a sub-class of citizens but don't hold their hands and coddle their every want and desire.

They are Americans first and foremost. If your personal life or sexual lifestyle conflict with the good order and discipline of the United States military…. be gone with you!

Leave it to Ron Paul to put things in the correct perspective. He must not be a good dancer like the other candidates.

RON IS RIGHT WE GET OUT RIGHTS FROM GOD NOT GOVERMENT!

Ron Paul is exactly right – lets move past personal beliefs and start doing whats right for America.

"Let me maneuver my way out of this one with grace." Dumbed down version.

Another candidate who, in the end, will pander to America's homophobia.

Paul is right on this issue.
The socialist elities want everyone to be divided into groups.
However it's all based upon individual rights.
Thats how we got into half the government waste were in.
Gays have to have rights and some gov program, women have to have certain rights and some gov program, etc…
It should be based upon individual rights given to all by our creator and no special rights because of race, creed, sex, sexual orientation.
Gov needs to be smaller now and not later. Thats one reason I will be voting for Paul.

Ron Paul- The Only True Republican Candidate!

Once again, Ron Pauls word is clearly understood and accepted by the american people! Go Ron Go!

But unless homosexual soldiers are allowed to openly have boyfriends or girlfriends (fiances, spouses, etc), the way that straight soldiers can, then they're not being treated as individuals with the same rights. And under don't ask don't tell, they can't. Therefore, the current treatment is not "the same."

I think that what he said is good, but implying that the current policy is similar to what he said is misleading.

God, I wish we had somebody like Ron Paul to vote for up here in Canada.

It's not about whether the soldier is homosexual or heterosexual. It is about how they conduct themselves in their sexuality. Misconduct by both should be dealt with. Soldiers should be judged on how well they do their job, not their sexual preferences. If sexual misconduct occurs, whether homosexual or heterosexual, it should be handled with a firm hand.

Ron Paul's beliefs in our inalienable rights and the Constitution shined again, and his applause was well deserved. This man is America's last hope.

I agree with Ron Paul until he agrees with the policy. What a hypocrite. How about a don't ask, don't tell policy for heterosexuals? That way, gay servicepeople wouldn't have to hear about their sex lives. Wouldn't that treat every individual equally?

Ron Paul understands that private behavior that does not interfere with the conduct of military operations is – private behavior.

I think he's right on the issue, and I believe that he could have had a greater chance to further expound ALL of his ideas had he been gives the same amount of time as the "top" candidates. If you're hoping for a fair debate, might as well give everyone the same quantity of time to present their perspective. That’s just common sense!

WONDERFUL response. His responses were ABSOLUTELY consistent and to the point. The same cannot be said at all for Romney, Giuliani, or McCain.

On a side note, CNN, why did he barely receive any talking time? He was also the only Republican against the war. But CNN anchors keep stating all the GOPers are for it. They're lying… please clarify to all your viewers of this error.

Ron Paul has addressed an issue that few others seem interested in, the issue of individuality. Homosexuals have been used by Democrats as a means to an end, and Paul decided to deal with an issue that they care about by treating them as human beings.

Ron Paul is correct. It's not an issue of group rights it's an issue of personal behavior and responsibility. Like he said, if someone's homosexual activity is being disruptive it needs to be dealt with. If someone's heterosexual activity is being disruptive it too needs to be dealt with. That goes for any behavior. If it is disruptive it needs to be dealt with.

I just want to add that I'm not one of the Ron Paul supporters who assault internet sites like youtube — I've been a huge fan of Obama for the past few months, but if Ron Paul can make it, I think he'll get my vote.

I would like to hear Ron Paul describe his plans to address poverty in America, though.

Spot on. Liberty is the most important thing, and Ron Paul advocates for it. People should be treated equally.

Go Ron Paul

A great response. Homosexuals that cause disruptive behavior should be dealt with the same way that heterosexuals that cause disruptive behavior. There is no reason to differentiate between the two if we truly are all created equally.

Ron Paul is dead on!! Treat all equally!!!

Ron Paul is right, homosexuality and heterosexuality which is disruptive, should be dealt with.

I have to agree with Ron Paul here. Issues like homosexuality in the military only serve to waste time and attention on an issue that has very little relation to running a country. If the behavior is disruptive, we should leave it up to the military commanders to make their own judgment as such. There is too much “from the top” legislation coming out of Washington as it is.

How awesomely consistent are his answers to policy questions?

Rep. Paul's response to the issue of homosexuals openly serving in the military, was fantastic. Both homosexual and heterosexual behavior can be disruptive and should be dealt with. It, as Rep. Paul said, "isn't an issue of homosexuality" but its an issue of respecting the rights of each individual, respecting others boundaries. The applause that Rep. Paul received was well deserved.

Paul is dead on.

I thought that was Paul's most confusing answer of the night. He seemed to imply that it should be repealed with his comments that all disruptive sexual behavior should be dealt with appropriately, but he also said that the policy was fine as it stands. However, homosexuality is, unfortunately, the issue as it stands.

Absolutly, the best response by any candidate. Individuality is the long forgotten aspect of humanity. We long to label and segregate. The truth is we are all infinite, you cannot box and label that.

Go Ron Paul

Hes right, why should people be treated as groups? Each person is his own.

Thsi was the best and second-most insightful comment in the debate. The first was Dr. Ron Paul's comments about 'first strike' rationale. Dr. Ron Paul proved that he's the best candidate for all gays and anyone else's 'alternative lifestyle', and also anyone who wants: Peace, Prosperity, and Liberty!

No Gays in the miltary.The current policy is good.