Seldom in the course of human events have elementary and secondary school students heard a Republican presidential candidate say that elected officials in the nation's capitol "have very little respect for the Constitution."
But they did Thursday at the Henderson International School, where a student's senior year of high school costs a family more than $16,000.
With their parents and grandparents, the students also heard presidential candidate Ron Paul suggest that Osama bin Laden, whose followers killed nearly 3,000 Americans on Sept. 11, 2001, was motivated not by envy of American's freedom but by a hatred of America's empire-building presence in the Middle East.
"He really makes you think," said 17-year-old E.J. Rudy, a senior who hopes to attend McAlester College in Minnesota next year.
In his campaign stop, Paul did what he always does: Stake out positions far from the standard Republican Party line.
And that seemed to please Marguerite Mercaldo, whose 10-year-old grandson, Christopher Herrero, attends the Henderson school.
"I'm very pro-Ron Paul," she said, adding that she is tired of the deficit spending and war promoted by the Bush administration.
The Texas congressman said that Congress takes actions the Constitution does not outline, particularly on spending issues.
He also said the Constitution does not call for the "nation building" that the United States is attempting in Iraq.
"Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11," Paul said.
No longer, he told students, should the United States see itself as "the policeman of the world." He wants American military bases around the world to be shuttered.
Our troops around the world, combined with the war in Iraq, he said, are fueling a $9.1 trillion debt.
Paul, a 72-year-old country doctor who once ran for president as the nominee of the Libertarian party, was delighted by the students' response.
"All the kids I talked to afterwards, their parents are Republicans, and not one of them believe in the war," Paul said as he headed to his car. "It seems people are really thinking about what we've gotten ourselves into."
Earlier Thursday, Paul spoke at the 15th Annual World Congress of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine at The Venetian. He was to campaign in Northern Nevada later Thursday.
In November, Paul's campaign, fueled by supporters using the Internet, set the single-day Republican fundraising record of more than $4 million.
Still, his money hasn't translated into higher poll numbers. He is running at 4 percent nationally and 8 percent in Nevada.
Dr. Rebecca Herrero, whose son Christopher attends the Henderson school, said she has become excited by Paul's ideas. She particularly likes the fact that he would make medical expenses tax deductible.
Paul said it is time the United States stop rewarding those who enter the country illegally. They should not be able to use hospitals or social services, he said.
Paul criticized the federal government for becoming involved in areas that he thinks would be better handled by the states, including education and health care.
No reason exists for the No Child Left Behind program pushed by Bush, Paul said, when teachers, students, parents and administrators all dislike it.
Rudy listened carefully.
"I just wish he would talk more about how this transition would be carried out," he said. "We need to know what is going to come in place of what we now have."
Contact reporter Paul Harasim at pharasim@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2908.
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