RON PAUL WILL ABSOLUTELY RUN THIRD-PARTY

OK, I have no solid evidence of that -- but isn't that the usual meaning of this weasel-phrase?

...For weeks rumors have swirled that Paul, who trails his opponents in national and state polls, will eventually run as an independent or libertarian candidate.

"I have no intention of doing that," Paul told The Trail....

Of course, I don't know why he's bothering with the standard dodge, when Mike Bloomberg seems to have rewritten the rules on this kind of white lie -- on New Year's Eve, Bloomberg told Ryan Secrest, "No, I will not run for president," yet there he is in Oklahoma today, bearing cheesecakes (Junior's, judging from this picture) and clearly seeking a third-party endorsement from like-minded "third way" types who are getting on in years and really should be watching their cholesterol. But Ron Paul's kinda old-school, which explains, I guess, why he sticks with the time-honored wording for his non-denial denial.

And by the way, if you missed it over the weekend, please note that the crowd at Alexander Cockburn's CounterPunch seems really enthusiastic about the right-wing kook. Just what we need -- a Ralph Nader who's not even right on as many as two issues.