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Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) went on the "Today" show this morning to tout his just-announced presidential bid. But things didn't go so well.

"Today" host Savannah Guthrie began by asking Paul a question about the criticism leveled by some that he has changed his positions on a variety of issues -- from Israel to defense spending. It's a perfectly fair question and one that is central to Paul's challenge in the race: Can he, an avowed libertarian, find a way to shift enough in his views to appeal to more mainstream conservative voters?

But before Guthrie even gets halfway through the question, Paul begins to interrupt her. "Before we we go ... before we go ... before we go through a litany," he says, repeatedly talking over Guthrie.

Then Paul says: "Why don't we let me explain instead of talking over me?" (Worth noting: Watch the clip above. It's pretty clear who's talking over whom.) "Why don't you ask me a question of whether I have changed my opinion," Paul scolds Guthrie, adding: "You've editorialized."

Later, as Guthrie tries to clarify Paul's position on aid to Israel, he tells her, "let me answer the question."

This isn't the first time Paul has had a run-in with a female reporter this year. In an interview with CNBC's Kelly Evans in early February, Paul shushed Evans and told her to "calm down a bit."

In the wake of that interview, Paul was unapologetic -- insisting that he was simply speaking truth to a resistant media. "I think if you're forthright and answer a lot of questions, sometimes you'll get people who won't let you answer the questions and that makes for a difficult answer," Paul told CNN.

[Rand Paul has a victim complex]

Okay, sure. But at some level, these two episodes suggest that Paul seems to misunderstand the nature of running for president. It is not a college lecture class where you talk and other people listen and take notes. It is an active back and forth between the candidate, voters and, yes, the media. And, that means that sometimes you get asked things you think are (a) stupid, (b) unfair or, often, both.

But as we noted when we wrote about Scott Walker's terrible answer on a question about President Obama's Christianity, the goal of a candidate for president is to be a candidate for president, not a media critic. Don't like the question? Choose not to answer it diplomatically rather than being openly dismissive (Paul) or launching into some broad riff on the problems of the press (Walker).

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The Fix: Rand Pauls problem with female interviewers just cropped up again