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In GOP presidential field, only three are for real

(CNN) -- There are three ways to run for president these days.

The first is to run to promote yourself. The second is to run to promote ideas. The third is to actually run for president of the United States.

The Republican presidential hopefuls running on this old-fashioned third notion are a distinct minority. And that says a lot about the state of our politics: bread and circuses meets reality TV.

Mitt Romney and the newly declared Jon Huntsman are definitely running for president. So is Tim Pawlenty (although his whiffed pitch at CNN's New Hampshire debate gave many the sense that he is really angling for a VP-slot).

These three folks have done the hard work of actually putting together a presidential campaign team, raising money and defining their positions. Running for president -- and preparing for the responsibilities of the office -- is serious business. They are taking it seriously.

Running for president to advance ideas is itself a time-honored approach. Sen. Margaret Chase Smith and congressman Shirley Chisholm ran for president to help advance women's rights and civil rights. Socialist Eugene Debs ran for president in the early 1900s (once from prison). Conservative Barry Goldwater defeated New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller for the GOP nomination in 1964, championing the libertarian-conservative cause before being defeated by President Lyndon Johnson.

Likewise, Ross Perot's independent campaign in 1992 helped elevate the issue of the deficit to national prominence, paving the way for the balanced budgets of the late 1990s.

Ron Paul, Gary Johnson and Newt Gingrich are running in this tradition -- none are likely to actually win the nomination, but their presence helps shape the debate.

Paul and Johnson advance the libertarian cause that is (thankfully) on the rise in the GOP, especially among the youthful grassroots. Paul gets points for philosophic consistency when it comes to the now-fashionable criticisms of the Bush Doctrine, deficits and the debt. Gary Johnson's libertarian bona fides extend to social issues as well as fiscal and he has the added distinction of serving as a successful two-term governor of a swing state -- New Mexico -- giving him executive experience as well.

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