A ‘libertarianish’ revolution. Rand Paul’s ideological heritage is his greatest asset — and his biggest challenge.

The Washington Post reports:

In Rand Paul’s universe, there is always further reading. This has been the case since he was a kid. His father delivered babies by day and read books by night, devouring libertarian classics such as Ayn Rand’s novel “Atlas Shrugged” — he had a valuable first edition on his shelf — and Friedrich Hayek’s treatise on totalitarianism, “The Road to Serfdom.”

Randal Paul, known as Randy, was the middle of five children and the kid most interested in his father’s ideas. “He read every book his father had,” says Mary Jane Smith, a former campaign manager for Ron Paul.

The son, who declined to be interviewed for this article, knew exactly what his father perceived as significant in those books: “Ron doesn’t like to lend any of his books, because he underlines them,” says Rand’s mother, Carol Paul.

An educated man.