Paul Is Here, and the RNC Isn't Happy

In promoting the manifesto, Paul has always described the words as his own. In the interview, Paul described his writing process, saying he wrote the book in long-hand on yellow legal pads as he stumped for votes in the run-up to the presidential primaries. Asked if he had any help writing the book, he said, "The publisher provided editing services."

Woods is a resident scholar at the Ludwig von Mises Institute, where several Paul supporters conduct scholarly work in economics, philosophy and political economy. He said Paul "scratched down a pile of notes," which became the basis for the book. Woods said he collected those thoughts, along with excerpts of Paul's speeches, into the manifesto and sent it to the congressman when he was finished writing it.

"I put it together in a format that would be sensible," Woods said.

It's not unusual for a prominent political figure to employ a ghostwriter for a memoir or political tome, especially in the midst of a presidential campaign.

Woods defended the arrangement, saying, "I mean, this is new? Does anyone call up Hillary Clinton and ask questions like this? That someone no one has heard of took Ron Paul's ideas and pulled them into a book? Isn't that a bit overblown?"

Clinton's most recent book, a memoir, acknowledges the contributions of three others. She credits them for "making sense of mountains of information about my life" and for guiding her efforts "to explain and express my feelings about my time in the White House."

McCain has written several books with adviser Mark Salter, who is credited as a co-author in all of them. Democratic nominee Barack Obama has written two books on his own.

Neither Woods nor Paul would provide details about how much they were paid for working on the book. The manifesto has sold more than 100,000 copies and reached the top of several bestseller lists. Paul said House ethics rules prevented him from being paid anything in advance.

"I have not received any money for the book, even though I potentially might," Paul said. "I am ambivalent on taking the money. I might just donate it to my foundation. That's going to be a decision down the road."