BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- Earlier this week, while on vacation hiking Washington State's Olympic Mountains, I took a quick daytrip from Seattle to Vancouver, stopping in Bellingham to eat lunch.

In the historic district of this northern Washington city I went into a tobacco shop that had a large Ron Paul sign in the window and a stack of Paul for President pamphlets on the counter.

As I purchased a pack of American Spirit Ultra Lights I asked the clerk if Paul had some kind of organized effort in tobacco shops and bars, a sort of smoker's rights thing going on -- considering the Texan's libertarian views.

The clerk seemed suspcious of my question so I settled for the cigarettes and a nifty new lighter.

But the thought stuck with me: Could Paul have an angle with smokers? With smoking bans extending to private property (at least give bars and casinos a pass) it would make sense for Paul to seek votes among the smokers clustered curbside.

The rest of this story can be read at Iowa Independent.com.