At this juncture it's a brilliant move and strengthens him as a Presidential candidate for 2016.
So you are saying he will run against Mitt Romney in 2016? How certain are you that Obama will win? At least before Rand's announcement we could say that Romney wouldn't be getting the rEVOLution votes. Now there are people on these very forums who are saying they are now willing to vote for Romney because they "trust" Rand Paul.
Is it a brilliant move to help Romney win? Sorry I disagree. Give me 4 years of Obama over 8 years of Romney any day of the week. They are the same imo.