****Yea, right... In a country where 90% of the people have never heard of Ron Paul (yet), 47% say they wont vote for him.****
Or to put it another way, Ron Paul has the support of 50% of the people who know about him. I imagine that most of the 47% against RP are democrats that would never vote for a republican.
Your tag line sums up the reason for my support of Dr. Paul. The rest of the field, democrat & republican, will keep us on the same path to ruin we've been on all my life. We need a fundamental change in direction, and Ron Paul is the only one who'd try to make it happen.
Optimistic about Dr. Paul's chances? I wish I could be. He's got a remote shot at the GOP nomination, and he sure has my hopes and prayers, but I expect hitlery will be facing julie annie, mutt romney or thompson next year - none of whom I could bring my self to vote for.