“With all due respect, that sounds very retreatist of you”

And what about same-sex marriage? Paul’s position — such marriages are morally wrong, but Republicans should stop obsessing about them — seems so muddled that an Iowa pastor recently confronted him in frustration.

“With all due respect, that sounds very retreatist of you,” minister Michael Demastus said he told Paul (R-Ky.) after the senator explained his position during a stop in Des Moines…

To answer the question, The Washington Post reviewed Paul’s speeches, his op-eds and the 326 pieces of legislation he has authored. (Just one, a minor amendment on presidential nominations, has made it into law.)

The Post also interviewed several Paul advisers. Paul’s aides declined to make the senator available for an interview.

Taken together, these sources provide a picture of Washington’s most intriguing politician — a candidate still tinkering with his platform, even as he stands on it.