An unlikely pair: Kucinich says he'd like Paul as his running mate 
Libertarian congressman, surging in GOP horserace, shoots down idea of bipartisan ticket
Call them 2008's odd couple: Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich says if his long-shot bid for the presidential nomination were successful, he'd ask Republican Ron Paul to be his running mate.
The two men are lagging in opinion polls of their parties' primary voters, but exploding in popularity among online supporters. With their powers combined ... well, who knows what would happen. Kucinich raised the possibility of a gadfly team-up at a recent campaign stop in New Hampshire, although the idea has been kicking around for months in blogs and Internet forums.
Rep. Kucinich (D-OH) recently told a crowd of supporters in New Hampshire that a ticket featuring him and the libertarian Texas congressman would help "balance the energies in this country," according to a Cleveland Plain Dealer blog.
"It would create a stunning, if dizzying, blend of beliefs, wedding two politicians who hold different views on abortion rights, the role of government in providing health care, and the use of government in fostering -- or hampering -- the public's greater good," report the newspaper's Sabrina Eaton and Stephen Koff.
Indeed, it wouldn't be the first time the two vehemently anti-war lawmakers joined forces. Earlier this year Paul and Kucinich teamed up to co-sponsor a bill that would've revoked President Bush's authority to wage war in Iraq.
However, even if Kucinich can bolster his support enough to topple the Hillary Clinton-Barack Obama-John Edwards juggernaut currently battling for Democratic primacy, such a pairing is nearly impossible.
"Dr. Paul and Rep. Kucinich are friends and there is a lot of mutual respect," Paul communications director Jesse Benton told the reporters. "They have worked, and will continue to work, together on the ending the war and protecting civil liberties.
"However, Ron wants to substantially cut the size and scope of the federal government. There are too many differences on issues such as taxes and spending to think a joint ticket would be possible."
Besides, if either of the gadflies is going to take center stage in his party's presidential quest, Paul seems the more likely contender. He is on track to raise more than $12 million in the last quarter of this year and has seen his stock rise in polls of Iowa and New Hampshire voters, although he is still well behind frontrunners like Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani.
Kucinich's campaign, meanwhile, seems to be on much the same trajectory as his previous failed bid in 2004, when he failed to crack double digits in a single primary. The campaign is performing well online this time around, and it hopes to replicate Paul's recent one-day fundraising success with a Dec. 15 pledge drive. Kucinich's campaign says it wants to raise $10 million that day, tied to the date in 1791 when the Bill of Rights took effect.
Paul supporters are planning a similar fundraiser, hoping to raise $10 million on Dec. 15 and 16, the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.
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