“Ron Paul won an informal straw poll of Virginia Republicans Saturday at the state party’s annual weekend retreat,” the Associated Press is obliged to admit. “The Texas congressman got 182 of the 479 ballots cast, or 38 percent. Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson finished second with 112 votes, with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee third with 51.”

As Ron Paul keeps winning straw polls and gaining momentum, the corporate media is pulling out the stops.

For instance, the UPI compares the Paul campiagn to “notable third-party campaigns in U.S. history,” even though Paul is a Republican. “I think you could build a case that Ron Paul is part of a tradition of those unhappy with the iron grip of the status quo, from Ross Perot to Ralph Nader right back to Teddy Roosevelt and the Bull Moose Party,” Bruce Buchanan, a professor of government at the University of Texas, Austin, told the Los Angeles Times. “What they all have in common is a freedom from the normal tendencies toward caution and equivocation.”

In other words, at least according to Buchanan, Paul does not fit in the Republican party. Of course, going independent almost certainly ensures a candidate ends up a historical footnote and this is what the Republicans want, as Paul continues to upset the apple cart.