Ron Paul: 50/50 Chance That He'll Make Another Run at White House

The rise of the TEA Party may have emboldened Rep. Ron Paul to run for president in 2012. In a recent interview, Paul said that there a 50/50 chance that he'll throw his hat in the ring:

Republican Rep. Ron Paul, known for bucking his party in favor of his libertarian principles, says there's a chance he'll make another run for the presidency.

"I'd say it's at least 50-50 that I'll run again," Paul told the New York Times in a profile of the 75-year-old congressman. His decision will reportedly hinge in part on how the economy fares.

The article went on to Ron Paul some credit for the rise of the TEA Party, which holds many of the same libertarian values and beliefs that he does:

Paul won less than 2 percent of the vote in his 2008 Republican primary presidential bid, but he won a dedicated fan base that supported him strongly online and financially. He is often credited for spawning the Tea Party movement, which swept into office this year more congressmen that hold his stringent libertarian views on issues like fiscal policy, including his son, Sen.-elect Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Even though he get that far in the 2008 race, the fact that his more libertarian style was the catalyst that resulted in the birth of the TEA Party helped him tremendously politically. After the successes that TEA Party this past election, he will receive leadership positions in the next Congress:

The validation the Tea Party gave to Paul's views may have helped him secure the chairmanship of the House Domestic Monetary Policy Subcommittee, according to reports. As leader of that congressional panel next year, Paul will have oversight of the Federal Reserve. While he's written a book entitled "End the Fed," Paul said last week he will "not right up front" push to abolish the central bank.

How he performs in these leadership positions will ultimately determine, whether he will run or not. However, he is already 75 and would be 77, when he would potentially take office. That would be 5 years older than McCain would have been, if be had been elected in 2008. He'd be 81 at the end of his potential first term. I don't think that America would vote for anyone that old for a first term. In the end, I don't think that he'll run, and if he does, he won't get much further than he did before.