"The Best Reason to Take Rand Paul Seriously Has Nothing to Do With His Politics."

Writes Jim Rutenberg in the NYT.

[T]he ground game that [Paul's] team is planning is pure realpolitik. His staff is focused on the delegate math and party rules that could determine the next Republican nominee � a game-theory style of presidential politics at which the Paul team is particularly adept....

[I]n a close-fought, state-by-state contest between two or more competitive candidates, the campaign that best understands the intricacies of delegate allotment will have a real edge � and at this point, that campaign is almost certainly Paul�s. Like Obama in 2008, Paul is a first-term senator who, aware of his underdog status, is spending the campaign�s early days planning for all the scenarios it can envision.