he sounds like any republican - beside his views on the middle east - ...
Not really, especially compared to the other candidates.
i found very conservative on some issues: abortion, gov'ment influence, libertarianism, secure borders, gays ...
he's right wing alright imo ...
You're definitely correct. There's a big difference, though. The Republican Party has moved completely away from those values, under Bush II.
So, he's running, essentially, as a protest against the changes in the party. Here are his values, compared to the party's recent leanings:
Paul v. Rest of party
Isolationism v. interventionism
Cut taxes AND spending v. cut taxes and increase spending
And those are the two biggies that have really defined what it means to be a Republican for as long as I can remember. He represents those values, while the rest of the field has really gotten away from them.