Barrwatch: Bloombergeddon

It doesn't seem like Bob Barr's shunning of the Ron Paul press conference has dented his campaign bus. Outside of the tear gas-choked air of Independent Political Report and radical-leaning LP blogs, Barr's media coverage has remained steady, respectful, and (of course) dismissive. Today he left the trail for some private work that can't hurt with with ornery libertarian voters.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg defamed a Georgia sporting goods store when he labeled it one of several "rogue gun dealers" putting firearms on his city's streets, Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr argued Tuesday to a federal appeals court.

Barr, a former prosecutor and Republican congressman from Georgia, is representing the store in a $400 million libel lawsuit against Bloomberg and New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

And Barr waved the flag of victory over Pennsylvania Republicans, who lost a lawsuit written to keep him off the ballot.

The challenge to Barr, a former Republican congressman from Georgia who some GOP strategists fear might siphon votes from McCain, was filed by Harrisburg lawyer Victor Stabile, who also is chairman of the Cumberland County Republican Party.

Commonwealth Court Judge Johnny Butler rejected arguments that the party tricked voters by gathering signatures under another candidate's name and substituting Barr's name in August, three months after he was nominated at its national convention.

The Libertarians' intent "was to comply with the (state) election code, not to mislead Pennsylvania's voters," Butler wrote.

This is matched by bad news from Louisiana, where bureaucratic delays caused by Hurricane Gustav might have kept Barr's signatures from being counted for ballot access.