Leaving aside Ron Paul's racism and extreme right-wing positions aside, there's another reason why progressives should not be swayed by his so-called anti-war (more like isolationist) candidacy:
Do we really need this crazy nutjob anywhere NEAR the White House??
Ron Paul's solutions involve indexing the dollar to the price of gold and raising interest rates to limit the money supply. This is the worst thing you could do and it will hurt millions of home owners and real estate investors who will be forced to sell their homes or investments well below the price that they paid for them.
Also, it's becoming clear that there needs to be some bailout aid package to help the subprime mortgage holders. It's only fair that those who were fortunate to have paid off their mortgages or those who got into the market before the housing boom should help those who were fooled by the predatory lenders who used high pressure sales tactics to push packages such as adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) or a duplicitious negative amortization scheme in the guise of an ultra-low interest payment schedule.
As progressives, we should not forget our obligation to these 2.2 million (in the form of tax relief and compensation packages), we will also help RE investors and homebuilders (the latter which gives many jobs to latino immigrants who mostly vote for the Democratic Party).
Barack Obama, Chris Dodd and Joe Biden have all made sensible proposals to help homeowners and investors while making sure there is no collapse in the market.
Ron Paul's solution? Keep interest rates high and then tell the little people: "Sucks to be you!"