Gary Johnson ‘flattered’ that Ron Paul mentions him for 2012

Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul told The Daily Caller in June that if he doesn’t run again for president in 2012, there’s someone else with similar libertarian-leaning views he could see himself supporting: former Republican New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson. “I thought that was terrific,” Johnson said in a phone interview with The Daily Caller. “You know, I’m a Ron Paul fan. I endorsed Ron Paul in his run for president, so I did see that, and I was flattered by it.” But that’s all the former governorwould say about any sort of presidential ambitions, invoking hisoften-repeated reason that because he’s chairman of a 501(c)(4)organization — whose primary focus by law cannot be politicalcampaigning — he can’t discuss his political future. “I can’t betalking about political office,” he said. Yet 2012 is obviously at least somewhat on his mind as Johnsonmentions that former Republican Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, who ranfor the GOP nomination in 2008, operated under an independent expenditure organization — and not a PAC — before announcing his run...more