Ron Paul portrays himself as a preacher — and practitioner — of political purity. His loyal followers believe it. He is Saint Paul, the one true Republican in a race full of frauds, they tell anyone who expresses the slightest interest. It is a myth.

Ron Paul is, in truth, the best politician in the 2012 Republican presidential primary. That is not a compliment. Among the candidates, Paul is the most skilled at making himself appear to be something he is not.

In the debates and on the campaign trail, Paul is a master of political rhetoric. He turns every question to his advantage by answering with vague statements of high-minded libertarian principle, often dodging details and his record. His Quixotic quest for the White House has come as far as it has because both the media and rival campaigns have let him ride on, as though he were a harmless child playing a game of make-believe. He is not, and as his legend has grown, his half-baked ideas have spread.

Take his foreign policy. He says we shouldn’t invade other countries unless they attack us first. Sounds reasonable. But in fact, he would close every overseas U.S. military base, convert the U.S. Navy into a coast guard, and leave the United States without the intelligence and security capabilities necessary even for successful diplomacy and trade protection.

On domestic policy, he is no purist. He rails against earmarks even as he has spent decades requesting them. His trick is simple: He requests earmarks, then votes against the budgets that contain them, knowing full well that the budgets will pass. He gets to eat his cake and have it, too.

And then there are the wacky theories. Paul really believes that the United Nations is engaged in a plot to create a world currency and that “the CIA runs everything," to name just two. He has at least flirted with 9/11 trutherism.

Much of Ron Paul’s basic message is generally attractive. He is right that his own party has strayed too far from its ideals, and that Washington can and should be significantly smaller and less assertive. But he is not a serious presidential candidate, and in the voting booth today the people of New Hampshire should not treat him like one.