By many criteria, the Ron Paul campaign has exceeded everyone’s expectations: a $20 million fourth-quarter haul, second- and third-place finishes after an initial field of eleven, and such officially anointed candidates as Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson left in the dust. But in the wake of Super Tuesday, what is the campaign’s future? We don’t know, of course, but here are a few possible routes that could be taken.

Sticking with the GOP. For the campaign to continue to raise serious money after New Hampshire (and especially now), the campaign team needed shaking up, even if only for psychological impact, and a new slate of professionals brought in. Professional Republican operatives are essential – they are loathsome and couldn’t care less about the issues, to be sure, but they know how to run a national campaign. The campaign should also bring Trevor Lyman and Vijay Boyapati into the campaign and give them veto power over ads and strategy in order to restore the grassroots approach that made the movement so successful.

An ad comparing Dr. Paul to the other candidates did finally appear in the days before Super Tuesday, but far too late. With a record like Dr. Paul’s to boast of, these ads should have wiped the floor with the other candidates. Running an amateurish ad in New Hampshire about Dr. Paul’s position on health care – health care! – is unforgivable.

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When John McCain became the front-runner, it might have been nice to see an ad superimposing "New York Times endorsed" over John McCain’s head, asking: When was the last time you let the New York Times choose your president? And then perhaps a little red meat for registered Republicans: would the New York Times have endorsed Ronald Reagan?

Send a real message to the establishment: vote for the candidate who has refused to play their game. Then tick off major items from Ron Paul’s record, such as these, from the campaign website:

The key message of the Ron Paul Revolution right now involves the war and the economy. That is where the emphasis should be. The phrase "none of the other candidates" needs to be employed liberally. No other Republican knows the first thing about the monetary system, the housing bubble or its causes, the falling dollar, and so on. Dr. Paul has been sounding the warning on this for years. The people he’s running against probably couldn’t define the federal funds rate if asked; how can they possibly deal with a crisis like this?

In states with open primaries, appeal to the idealism of the youth vote by making public Barack Obama’s awful foreign policy record. Obama is not antiwar. Gee whiz, he gave a speech against the Iraq war before he was in national office. The fact is, he has threatened war with Pakistan, won’t take a nuclear first strike off the table, and offers up the old establishment boilerplate about this being no time to retreat into "isolationism." American troops will stay in 130 countries. The Iraq withdrawal might be complete by 2013, but he can’t promise anything, and he’s voted to fund the war all this time. He also voted to reauthorize the Patriot Act.

This represents "change" how, exactly?

Independent Run. Should Dr. Paul choose to run as an independent, his choice of running mate could significantly energize the campaign and help it draw in still more of the disaffected. Someone with star power and name recognition, a take-no-prisoners stage presence, and a willingness to name names could make a splash. We’ve heard Judge Andrew Napolitano’s name mentioned. Napolitano is senior judicial analyst for the Fox News Channel (but don’t hold that against him; he is a great man). Napolitano has modest name recognition, but he’s written some excellent books, is very knowledgeable, and is a more powerful and energetic speaker than anyone running.

At the very least, it would be interesting to observe the Fox News Channel pretend their own senior judicial analyst doesn’t even exist.

The Paul/Napolitano ticket would need to raise enough money to reach the public via Perot-style infomercials. In those infomercials the two candidates should divide the airtime right down the middle. These points would need emphasizing:

Withdrawal. Finally, Dr. Paul could leave the race altogether, focusing instead on campaigning for House and Senate candidates around the country who are committed to his platform. A minority of his supporters favor this approach.

Final Thoughts

Regardless of what Dr. Paul does, the idea behind the Liberty War Chest is a good one. If 100,000 people donated $500 over the next two years (a mere $20 per month), there would be $50 million in seed money for 2010 congressional races. And the Revolution moves forward.

We’re not sure ourselves which is the best route for Dr. Paul. We do know that we trust his judgment, and that we’ll be right by his side, at his service, no matter what he chooses. We await his orders.