Savannah Guthrie, Rand Paul and Vladimir Putin

Sometimes a major moment can happen early in a campaign. That may have happened when NBC’s Savannah Guthrie grilled and rattled Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on the “Today” show, which was reminiscent of Katie Couric’s interview of Sarah Palin during her ill-fated candidacy for vice president in 2008. This raises the question: if Paul cannot handle the tough questions of “Today” show host Guthrie, how can he handle the aggressive imperialism of Russian strongman Vladimir Putin?

{mosads}Let’s be clear and fair: The problem for Paul is not that he was sexist in his responses to Guthrie’s fair and professional questioning about whether he has changed his positions on key issues including Iran, which Paul certainly has. I agree with Megyn Kelly of Fox News who said the notion of Paul acting sexist in his answers to Guthrie is wrong. Paul also had a testy exchange with Philip Elliott of AP, which does not make him anti-male.

Paul’s rat-a-tat with Guthrie reveals two problems with the Paul candidacy that have nothing to do with sexism.

If Paul cannot handle Guthrie, he is going to have big trouble going head to head against Putin. Guthrie’s questions were entirely fair and her presentation of them was entirely professional. If Paul goes haywire with Guthrie on the “Today” Show, it sure suggests he might wilt under the pressure of the hard issues of war and peace against tough customers like Putin.

The first problem with the Paul candidacy revealed by the Guthrie interview, in other words, is that it brings to center stage the “not ready for prime time” issue. Paul is simply not ready for the prime-time pressures of a presidential campaign or the commander-in-chief challenges of the presidency. And it shows.

The second problem with the Paul candidacy dramatized by the Guthrie interview — which is widely known by those who closely follow presidential politics — is that Paul has clearly changed his position on key issues to suit his short-term political calculations. Regarding Iran and other matters of military and security affairs, Paul has moved from an almost extreme isolationist position to a newfound pseudo-toughness that makes him appear, at times, like he was born again as a neoconservative. This raises questions of whether he is shallow rather than deep, and whether he is an opportunist without principles rather than a leader of strong convictions.

There is something in the waters of Republican presidential politics. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) announces his candidacy and reveals hours later that he will be customer of ObamaCare shortly after he vowed to destroy it. Paul announces his candidacy and appears shellshocked by questions from Guthrie on the “Today” show.

Imagine what happens when Paul is confronted by the slanders from political opponents that Hillary Clinton has long handled with aplomb, or the menacing brutality of global threats from the likes of Putin.

Rand Paul may someday be ready for prime time, but in 2016, he certainly is not.

Budowsky was an aide to former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) and former Rep. Bill Alexander (D-Ark.), who was then chief deputy majority whip of the House. He holds an LL.M. degree in international financial law from the London School of Economics. Contact him at brentbbi@webtv.net.