Here's a random example from one of the debates... http://vote4reason.com/2011/12/11/ron-paul-wins-iowa-abc-gop...

"In closing, Rick Perry said he has most learned from Ron Paul’s effort to end the Federal Reserve, and why it matters."

In later debates, Gingrich seemed to make similar moves: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCC0vokYHnY

Not saying Paul was completely transformative, but his take on the Federal Reserve which I think was largely considered "extreme" started to become more of a mainstream GOP topic.