NYT's Frank Bruni: Rand Paul a 'quixotic, doomed' 2016 nominee

New York Times columnist Frank Bruni, who wrote restaurant reviews from 2004 to 2009, gives his take on the ascent of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to the top of the Republican Party and his potential run for president in 2016.

Bruni says in Tuesday's NYT that Paul's recent moderation on immigration and his widely-appealing stance on the Obama administration's drone policy have lent him undeserved mainstream credentials...

From Bruni's column:

[Paul's] past brims with statements and stands that make him an unhelpful mascot for his party. He’d be a skunk in a presidential primary and a quixotic, doomed nominee.

He has railed erroneously about the Clean Water Act’s effect on his toilets, indelicately quibbled with aspects of the Civil Rights and Americans With Disabilities Acts, and carped about the “nanny state” in relation to seat-belt laws. Yes, seat-belt laws.

His distaste for government is so deep you wonder how he can bear to work there. He’s like a vegan who has chosen to sup at a steakhouse, though I guess that’s the point. Now that he has access to the kitchen, he can filibuster the filet, stall the sirloin with nuisance amendments, and leave diners with only a side of spinach, and maybe an iceberg wedge.

It’s a crazy salad he’s serving, no matter how it’s currently dressed.

@eScarry