Ron Paul is anything but a 1960's hippy radical. Most political commentators today have a hard time understanding his views and look to dismiss them by pigeonholing him, almost
always incorrectly.
Look up
Austrian economics. That is where his views come from.
Like most Austrians, domestically, he is spot on (there is a strong case to be made for ending or at least severely cutting back the Fed). When it comes to foreign policy, he does make
some valid critiques but is ultimately too Utopian to put into power. You have to be able to deal with evil in the world and his view is that the only evil comes from government and external institutions; that human nature does not contain any inherent ability for evil.
There is also a lot of the moralized bullying behind what the Austrian viewpoint has become, post-
Rothbard; namely, anarcho-capitalist. They view
any killing of civilians or innocents in war as unjust and immoral. Of course, under this standard there is no way to conduct a war. Contrary to their economic views, most Austrians ignore the reality of trade-offs in international relations and in warfare.
That said, Ron Paul is clearly the most principled and sincere candidate for any party nomination for the presidency that we have had, at least in my lifetime. Have to appreciate that in him.