Paul Remains Upbeat About Delegates Despite Losses

Ron Paul didn’t exactly set the world on fire in the three presidential primaries/caucuses that Rick Santorum swept Tuesday. But that did nothing to dampen the Texas congressman’s enthusiasm.

Paul placed third in Missouri with 12.2 percent support, second in Minnesota with 27.2 percent, and fourth in Colorado with 11.8 percent.

Addressing his backers Tuesday night, Paul chose to accentuate the positive. For example, a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday showed him in second place for the first time in the GOP national nominating race. Paul tallied 22 percent in the survey, trailing Mitt Romney’s 28 percent, but topping the 16 percent support of both Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.

Although Paul has racked up only eight delegates so far, he is confident that more are on the way. “The straw poll is one thing,” Paul said. “But there’s one other thing called delegates. That’s where we excel.”

He was referring to Missouri’s primary vote, which didn’t choose any delegates and the two caucuses Tuesday that weren’t binding for delegates.

Paul was so excited that he giggled when he expressed his optimism. “I keep thinking it must be a lot more fun believing in something than just campaigning for nothing,” he said, presumably alluding to Romney.