he said in your interview there, i think you've got something important, that he wasn't expecting to finish third. he may well do that. and i think that's going to depress his fundraising and make him less relevant. >> reporter: i thought that was a mistake, too, when i heard it from paul saying i don't think i'm going to place third. it'll be first or second. is there life for ron paul after this campaign -- after iowa if he comes in third to rick santorum and mitt romney? >> like jesse jackson in the democratic party in the 1980s, he is the kind of candidate who can go on for a long time because he has a deeply committed base. this is kind of the paradox of these purely id lodge -- these candidates with a very pure ideology. they appeal to a certain segment of the elect rat who likes the purity, the consistency across all issues. then you run into someone like i ran into today at a mitt romney event in iowa. i agree with him on the economy. on foreign policy he's nuts. you have that base that allows you to keep going. the same passion that keeps that base also prevents you from growing into a full-scale