Washington Post: Rand Paul is the Front-runner for 2016 GOP Nomination

In wake of the Kentucky senator’s recent achievements in transforming the once-hawkish GOP into defenders of non-intervention in the Syria conflict and in becoming a defacto Republican “shadow president“, The Washington Post declares Rand Paul as No. 1 in a list of potential nominees for the GOP’s presidential pick in 2016.

WP blogger Chris Cillizza writes:

If you are looking for a candidate who can (a) raise the money, (b) has a clear and compelling message and (c) has an obvious edge in an early state (Iowa), then Paul is the only person in the top three who checks all three boxes. We repeat what we said above: Underestimate him at your own peril.

Other potential candidates in the list included Chris “King of Bacon” Christie and Marco “Water Break” Rubio.

Read the rest of the list (also at your own peril) at The Washington Post.

UPDATE: The Washington Post must have made some power brokers nervous with Chris Cillizza’s original headline. The article has now been re-published with “front-runner” in the title changed to the more neutral term, “presidential contender.”