It’s obvious that Paul had to develop a more mature non-interventionist policy. Such a project requires recruiting realists into a foreign policy coalition with more traditional America Firsters. Paul seemed to be heading that direction last fall with a major foreign policy speech. But since then, he has found himself scrambling, as polls showed Americans in an ever feistier mood. However, if anyone should understand how fickle popular hawkishness can be in America, it should be Paul.

Paul has always done best by attacking Democrats for foreign policy decisions that either have the tacit support of Republican hawks, or resemble policies that GOP hawks would make worse. So instead of trying to blur the distinctions between his views and the views of other Republicans, Paul should criticize the Obama-Clinton foreign policy that did little to stabilize the Middle East. This would be a way to kill two birds with one stone…

He should point out that his hawkish critics don’t just want to blow up a war-averting deal with Iran, but also wanted more American troops in Iraq, and wanted more American involvement in Libya, Syria, and Ukraine — all at the same time. The hawks go from one panic attack to the next.