Ron Paul was treated much nicer at the Montana Republican Convention than he was at the other Republican Conventions like Nevada and Minnesota. He was greeted warmly and allowed to speak, but even though his supporters tried their best, they did not achieve their goal, getting the Texas Congressman some delegates to the national convention, which is sneaking up on us very fast.

The Montana Caucuses were held way back on February5th and McCain came in third behind Mitt Romney and Paul. Un like the Democratic party caucuses and primaries in which the delegates are allotted proportionally, the Republican ones are winner take all. So what is the right thing to do in a case like this. Mitt Romney won all of the delegates, but he dropped out. Should the delegates go to Ron Paul, who came in second or should they go to John McCain, who is the presumptive nominee?

Ron Paul has suspended his campaign, which means he still holds on to his delegates until the convention, and he did win 35, but getting the 22 from Montana would give him a big boost in his efforts to get a speaking spot at the convention. Since he has not thrown his support behind McCain, he is fighting an up hill battle on that issue.

For someone who is no longer a candidate, Paul spent quite a bit of money on his campaign in the month of May, $322,000 and not only does he not support McCain, he does not recognize him as the nominee.

The latest polls show John McCain and Barack Obama in statistical ties for the November election. Each of them is going to need the support of as many of their own party members as they can muster. The Democrats are working hard on party unity. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are going to begin campaigning together. While this does not sit well with many of the Clinton supporters, especially since her name is not going to be put into nomination at the convention as is the custom for the first round of balloting. They are aiming for a first round nomination and a show of party unity right from the get go.

The situation is not the same on the Republican side. With the McCain camp trying to make sure that Ron Paul does not have a chance to be a speaker and the Paul supporters still loyal to their candidate, he could very well be the spoiler. Remember, Ron Paul did not always run as a Republican. He was a Libertarian candidate and he could very well throw his support that way. As for his future, Ron Paul is running virtually unopposed for his Congressional seat, his only competition being the Libertarian Party candidate and two independents, so unless something very strange happens, he will be around in the next Congress to make his mark with the new administration.

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