Barr for President: A Smaller Question Mark This Time

David Weigel | March 27, 2008

Bob Barr talked to AntiWar.com's Scott Horton yesterday and stoked the rumors that he might run for president.

On a presidential run, Barr said:

“There’s been a tremendous expressed to me both directly and indirectly on the Internet. I take that support very seriously, and I think it also reflects a great deal of dissatisfaction with the current candidates and the current two-party system. So it is something, to be honest with you, that I’m looking very seriously at.”

Barr said a Libertarian candidacy would essentially be an extension of the Ron Paul campaign.

“Ron Paul tapped into a great deal of that dissatisfaction and that awareness. Unfortunately, working through the Republican party structure, it became impossible for him to really move forward with his movement. But we have to have ….a rallying point out there to harness that energy, that freedom in this election cycle,” Barr said.

The ball has moved just a little bit further downfield since last week. Has the Gravelanche had an effect? No, not according to what I'm hearing. In order to have a chance at the LP's Denver convention, you need to collect tokens. Every delegate has five of them, and you need 30 to get a speaking slot at the convention. And it's not at all clear that Gravel could get 30 tokens. From what I'm hearing (big hat-tip to the plugged-in Steve Gordon), Mary Ruwart's recent entry into the race makes her the slight favorite: Barr, if he entered, would be the slight favorite, drawing much of his support from Wayne Allyn Root.

In other third party news, see if you can guess who wrote this.

There is a real desire, a belief that some alternative must be developed. We can no longer be enslaved by the existing party structure. On the contrary, if things aren't representing you, there needs to be something else. My experience [is] a period of serious reflection with what I can do.

Yes, it's Alan Keyes.