(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RAND PAUL, R-KY.: We can't tell you all of our secrets yet.
(CROSSTALK)
NEIL CAVUTO, HOST OF "YOUR WORLD": All right, but it's fair to say one of the Paul's' is running?
PAUL: I think there is a very good chance there will be a Paul on the ballot.
CAVUTO: OK. More your dad than you?
PAUL: Well, you know, I keep looking at his travel schedule.
(LAUGHTER)
PAUL: And he's certainly going to Iowa and New Hampshire quite a bit.
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: I noticed that. I noticed that.
PAUL: So that could be a hint.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAVUTO: Well, is it a hint? Because, today, Congressman Ron Paul is indeed in Iowa, the first caucus state in the nominee process. Then he's heading on to, look at this, New Hampshire, the first of the primary states.
But, right now, he's on the phone with us.
Congressman Ron Paul, how are you, sir? Good to have you.
REP. RON PAUL, R-TEXAS: I'm doing fine, Neil. Thank you.
CAVUTO: You're running for president, aren't you?
PAUL: I have not figured it out, whether I am running from it or for it, so I have to make that decision soon, because I know you're curious.
CAVUTO: I am very curious.
Your son seemed to intimate that one of Paul's was going to run. He seemed to bequeath that territory to you, should you choose to do so.
PAUL: Yes.
CAVUTO: It sounds like you are doing so.
PAUL: You know, you have been asking me a lot of those questions. And the whole -- the truth is he has said on TV, as well as I have, that we really haven't discussed it.
So, I talked to him yesterday on the phone. And, of course, you know where he stays when he's in Washington. So I will be seeing him either later tonight or maybe even tomorrow. And I told him, we ought to sit down and talk about this.
CAVUTO: That's right. We should explain to people who don't know that you are bunkmates. You share the same pad. And he came to join you when he moved to Washington.
But, having said that, this comes only about an hour or so, Congressman, after we heard that Mitt Romney has, as expected, formed an exploratory committee to run for president. So, a lot of the chits are being put in place.
How do you stack up?
PAUL: Well, it's hard for me to discuss this, because I am an unofficial candidate.
And how I stack up, I don't know. I don't talk about me as an individual. But I do know -- I do talk about how our philosophy stacks up and the need for true reforms, whether it's monetary reform, tax reform, spending reforms, foreign policy reforms.
I know that those views are very, very popular. And I think that they can compete with any of the other potential candidates in any way whatsoever, because more and more so, especially with the budgetary mess that we have, the people are looking for some true answers. And I think the philosophy of liberty will give them those answers.
CAVUTO: Now, to be fair to you, whether people agree or disagree with you, Congressman, you were way ahead of the curve on some of these crises that were pending and the spending that was out-of-control. And a lot of people have had it with foreign aid that really doesn't benefit the U.S. and so many other issues that have sort of exploded in the last few months.
But there is a sense that you would be an anathema in Washington, that you're against almost everything Washington stands for, and that that would be a tough road for you. What do you make of that?
PAUL: You know, I think it's interesting, because that's obviously the impression by some. Those people who want stuff for free, you know, we're against them. We're against people living off others.
But, if you say, I'm for the Constitution, I'm for sound money, I'm for balanced budgets, I'm for limited government, I am for less regulations, I am for a sensible foreign policy, where we don't get robbed and get involved in every skirmish around the world, I would say you could take everything that people might say I'm against, I'm for the opposite.
And I tend to want to always look at what I'm doing as being more positive than something negative, obviously.
CAVUTO: So, very quickly, the Paul Ryan plan, the plan that the president is probably going to reintroduce in the budget on Wednesday, his involved more tax hikes. The Ryan plan at this point doesn't.
Either plan intrigue you?
PAUL: Not really.
If I had two -- if I had one vote to pick one over the other ones, I can do that. But if I had to pick a vote to endorse it as a budget, I wouldn't be able to endorse either one.
CAVUTO: So, if you ultimately decide not to run for president, you would discuss it with Rand and let him run?
PAUL: Well, you are always trying to sneak those questions in. I've got to be careful with you.
(LAUGHTER)
PAUL: No, I'm going to have that conversation tonight or tomorrow. And I'm sure you'll be the first person we will call.
CAVUTO: All right. Well, I will come down to join you for dinner, and we'll -- we will...
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: There's an Olive Garden somewhere nearby.
But, Congressman, thank you very much.
PAUL: All right. All right, Neil. Good to talk to you.
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