Ron Paul punk'd by that Borat guy

Sacha Baron Cohen, an actor/comedian who lures people into seemingly legitimate interviews or situations in the guise of someone he most definitely is not, has ensnared our own congressman into his web of comedic deceit.

This comes with the territory when you get as beloved and/or reviled as US Rep. Ron Paul. We're certain he can "take it" and believe it will only add to his legend.

HOWEVER, it is a bit embarrassing. By now, if you don't know you're getting punk'd by the guy who made a feature movie impersonating a Kazakh journalist named Borat or a popular HBO series portraying a British numbskull named Ali G., your finger ain't exactly on the cultural pulse.

The latest prank will be in movie theaters in July. Cohen is in the guise of Bruno, his gay Austrian journalist character (see photo), and has managed to lure our congressman into a hotel, ostensibly for an interview.

As described by an article in Slate, one of the lights illuminating the interview set blows out, so Congressman Paul is invited into an adjoining room to wait while the light is replaced.

The other room, it turns out, is a bedroom. The lighting is low, and the film is now grainy—not unlike a sex tape—as it cuts to a hidden spy camera. There's a spread of Champagne and strawberries and caviar on a table.
Bruno tells Paul to make himself comfortable. Paul sits down on the bed. Bruno turns on some music and starts dancing. Paul is visibly uneasy but doesn't say anything at first. He picks up a newspaper and pretends to read it. "You can tell at each weird gay detail, he [chalks] it up to, This guy is European," says one of the attendees.
Finally, Paul asks what's going on. "Don't worry about it, Dr. Paul," says Bruno, who then unbuckles his belt and drops his pants. At that point, Paul snaps up and storms out of the room.
As Paul is walking away, you can hear him say, several times, something like, "This guy is a queer!" "The word queer comes out of his mouth three or four times," says an attendee.

Paul's people confirmed what happened.

How Paul's press secretary, Rachel Mills, managed to let her boss step into this one is mystifying, as she told Slate she was "familiar" with Cohen's work. She also noted Cohen and company were "very deceptive in their tactics."

Personally, I can't wait to see the movie. Cohen's Ali G. series in HBO provided a number of needed chuckles in our home and his Borat movie was amusing, though a bit much at times for my middle-aged heterosexual sensibilities.

As for Paul's cluelessness to Cohen's modus operandi, it neither surprises or alarms us, but we think he should give serious consideration to getting a more culturally aware press secretary.