Well, if you look at the list of the kinds of foods included (meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts, healthy fats and oils), I can't agree that they help justify eating things you shouldn't. Or maybe I should phrase that in the form of a question and ask, what kinds of things on the list that I posted do you think are things that people shouldn't eat?
Personally, I think more of the opposite is true, as in "I like pizza, pasta, etc. (fill-in-the-blank), and I'm healthy so the paleo diet is BS."
Your example of "low-fat candy" doesn't work because nothing I've read advocates eating candy, and furthermore, the paleo diet is not "low-fat" it just stresses that you should avoid certain kinds of fats. In fact, people I've talked to say you should load up on certain fats with Omega-3's and eat them throughout the day, as mentioned above.
Your McDonald's example is off the mark too. Saturated fat from corn-fed beef, with saturated fat from "processed American Cheese Food Product" topped with condiments loaded with sugar, on a refined white flour bun with a healthy side of white starch fried in un-healthy vegetable oil is nowhere to be found on any suggested diets I've read.
