Bob Barr in Politics Magazine
Politics, formerly Campaigns & Elections, has an interesting story on Libertarian Party candidate Bob Barr. Some snippets:
We wander back out into the club's lobby, and Barr tells me that he hopes my story displays a respect for third-party candidates. Then, before I leave, I ask one last, intentionally provocative question. If, just theoretically, he had no choice but to vote for either McCain or Obama, who would he pull the lever for? I'm met with a completely unamused, bespectacled glare, and then Barr sharply proclaims that he could not "in good conscience" cast a ballot for either one of them. "I have better things to do with my vote that was bought with the blood of many, many patriots over the years [than] to simply hold my nose and vote for the lesser of two evils."…
"We're seeing Barr pick up several fragments of the vote," says John Zogby, president and CEO of Zogby International. "He's getting more traditional conservatives-libertarian conservatives, who would have gone Republican otherwise, and still might come home. But it's clear they're disaffected with Bush, and some have become disaffected from the Republican Party after the scandals, high deficits, the Patriot Act, and other elements. So do I think Barr will get 4 to 6 percent overall? No, but could he make the difference in some states? Yes, absolutely."…
"I don't think Bob Barr will have any impact on the race," says Stuart Rothenberg, editor and publisher of the Rothenberg Political Report, a nonpartisan newsletter that analyzes American political campaigns. "I think that people who vote for Barr would not have voted for John McCain under any circumstances. So these are Bob Barr voters, and if he's not on the ballot, then they're staying home."
Whole thing (including cameo by reason's own Matt Welch!), here.
