http://www.cqpolitics.com/...
CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS – POLITICS
Sept. 3, 2008 – 1:29 p.m.
Former Rep. Barr Questions Palin’s Qualifications
By Joseph J. Schatz, CQ Staff
Barr said reports of a "cursory vetting process" for Palin "raise questions about the way McCain reached his decision."
Noting that McCain is 72, Barr said he wonders whether Palin "has the experience – not just the superficial experience – to really size up" foreign policy issues.
Barr pointed to what he termed President Bush’s foreign policy inexperience when he took office, saying that Bush had a "very serious misinterpretation of Vladimir Putin when he first met him." Bush famously said that he was able to "get a sense of his soul" when he met Russia’s then-president, who is now prime minister.
Barr just got on the ballot in NH.
But, let me get back to that aspect in a minute.
This man is another one of those quirky oddities of American Politics.
Check out his editorial at Huffington Post.
[yes, HuffPo?!]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
I'll admit it, just five years ago I was "Public Enemy Number 1" in the eyes of the Libertarian Party. In my 2002 congressional race for Georgia's Seventh District, the Libertarian Party ran scathing attack ads against my stand on Medical Marijuana.
Today, I am their presidential nominee and will represent libertarians at the top of the ticket on November 4th.
Huh?
That's right, Bob Barr, formerly the War on Drugs loving, Wiccan mocking, Clinton impeaching Republican is the presidential nominee for the Libertarian Party.
He's got a sense of humor, I'll give him that much.
The impact of Barr's candidacy is being ignored by the corporate media. He has not been invited to any debates, and the silence on the front pages of all print and web media is deafening.
Yet, as I stated above he just got on the ballot in NH.
National Journal just published an article yesterday, and it's worth the read.
http://www.nationaljournal.com/...
He was in Minneapolis-St. Paul on Tuesday and Wednesday to meet with supporters, many of whom attended the Campaign for Liberty rally organized by Barr's fellow Libertarian and former GOP presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. On Tuesday evening, as President Bush made his televised address to the convention, Barr was greeting Republican-affiliated supporters in the walkway behind the delegates' seats.
Asked about his chances, Barr cited Zogby International polls showing him potentially reaching 11 percent of the vote in New Hampshire, 10 percent in Nevada, and 8 percent in Ohio. The poll was conducted in mid-August.
http://www.freep.com/...
Libertarian Party candidate Bob Barr, meanwhile, who draws more support from Republicans, is a factor in Florida, North Carolina and New Hampshire.
For example, Barr is pulling 3% in North Carolina, according to a recent Zogby International poll — a potentially decisive margin in a reliably Republican state where Democrat Barack Obama is making a determined effort to compete.
"The fact that the race seems so close may very well throw North Carolina to the Obama camp, which I find astonishing," said Duke University political expert Mike Munger, who also is a Libertarian candidate for governor. "We’re a Republican state in presidential elections."
In Florida, Republican presidential candidate John McCain pulled 43% in the Zogby poll, with Obama at 40%. But Barr, a former Republican congressman from Georgia, pulled 3%.
"Florida has a tradition of some free thinkers," said T. Wayne Bailey, political scientist at Stetson University in central Florida. "There’s some feeling that Barr might impact McCain.... The X-factor is that McCain has not fully brought to the base his genuine conservative credentials."
Barr, noting his 11% showing in New Hampshire in the Zogby poll, explained his appeal. "Liberals who are tired of the Democratic Party acting as a doormat to the government’s assault against civil liberties," he said, "and conservatives who are tired of the Republican Party’s reckless abandonment of fiscal responsibility are all potential Barr voters."
This is in no way an endorsement of Bob Barr, or his views overall. I despise libertarianism as it relates to social issues such as health care, protections of the environment .. and yet I do appreciate that Barr represents an alternative to Republicans. Check some of the other places in the internet, and you'll find a level of support for Barr, or perhaps a level of grudging admiration by Republicans that he's got some points nailed down well.
Perot enabled a Clinton win in 1992, and while I don't think the Libertarian Party does not have as much traction this time as it did then, I think the influence this time shows signs of clearly exceeding Nader's effect in 2000.
Yet, Barr is locked out of the corporate media.
[What a big surprise.]
It appears that some conservatives and Republicans are still looking at Bob Barr and the Libertarian Party with great interest.
How much of an impact will Barr have?