Kucinich has always spoke his mind and does represent the classic liberal stero-type (social programs, etc.) while Ron Paul is at the other end of the spectrum as a libertarian. He offers a "balenced" ticket aimed at stopping the war.

The Washpo covered this (the Ron Paul phenomena) quite well in the Sunday Editorial section. What is fascinating to me is that Kucinich recognizes this and would mention it to a crowd of voters.

Can libertarian voters could find a home in the Democratic Party? Markos (Daily KOS) thinks so but it remains to be seen. This part of the electorate of independent voters are not big Hillary fans.... and at a time when the Democratic Party should be offering a Big Tent, they seem to be leaning toward the same old, same old.

At least Kucinich recognizes the importance of the independent / libertarian voter in this coming election year. And in a state whose motto is: "Leave Free or Die" ... libertarians are generally well received.

If you're serious, I remain "speechless."

Ron Paul believes that our own government is the enemy, and we should do everything we can to weaken it.  Kucinich is the guy who came up with the "Department of Peace", which actually puts domestic violence under federal jurisdiction (Very bad idea, by the way).  These two could never run together.  Paul wouldn't want to run with Kucinich. 

That with his poll numbers and grassroots following (anyone at the UVA-Tech game had to see a Ron Paul sign at at least half a dozen intersections) Paul would not be the one at the bottom of the ticket.

Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul.

Who are two people their party wishes would stop running for the presidential nomination?

The fact that the establishment wants them gone makes me love them even more.  It underlines that they are independent, not status quo individuals that will be pawns of an establishment agenda.  They are principled individuals in contrast with the power-obsessed establishment.

who are as anti-establishment as you can get, know that Kucinich is a joke.

Did you know Dennis used to be pro-life? How's that for principled? Ron Paul, who believes in individual rights, is also against abortion. How is that principled?

Also, according to Kos, back in Iowa 2004, "Kucinich threw his to the then-pro war Edwards in order to block Dean."  I wonder how all the Deaniacs feel about that...

Honestly, I don't know a lot about Kucinich.  I did know that he used to be pro-life, but that is not surprising considering his Roman Catholic faith.  However, people can still change their mind and remain true to themselves.  Otherwise, it is hard to address the assertion that he is a joke with just that abortion item.  But I'm not really that interested in being a Kucinich proponent anyway.

Ron Paul's position is not inconsistent with his belief in individual rights.  If you believe that a fetus is an individual, then there is no inconsistency.  You'd have to debate with Ron though if you would like to assert that a fetus is not an individual.  If you have more to offer on Ron Paul, I'm game for that discussion.

I can just imagine David Duke giving the "peace" sign. Can't you?

Nothing personal against Kucinich really, but I am hereby nominating nutjob Ron Paul for president of the moon!

Isn't Kucinich running for President of Uranus?

While I enjoy the paradies of Kucinich and his "hot" wife on SNL and the Daily Show I've got to say I respect his principals, which for the most part he lives by.

Ron Paul has my respect as well. Listen to him on the campaign trail (via C Span, etc.) and you hear very reasoned arguments for the positions he's taken. Couple that with the facts that he's lived his prinicipals as a Congressman and Doctor .... and it's easy to understand why his candidacy has risen. He is not a joke.

So Uranus and Moon pie are pretty petty.

It is easy to "respect his principals" (sic) when those principles are based on an unrealistic, utopian view of the world.  Leaving Ron Paul alone for the minute, since he is the bigger of these two nutjobs, consider Kucinich's major campaign positions:  free universal health care, protectionist trade policies, and a Department of Peace.  Hell, what is there not to like?  On the other hand, look how well his unrealistic and utopian views worked when he was the mayor of Cleveland.  Oops!

...it's possible to go so far to the right or the left as to end up on the other side...

The far left and the far right converge somewhere and it looks like it's at Kucinich-Paul 08.