Bob Barr Can Think of Somebody More Qualified Than Palin

I ran into Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr at the Xcel Center and asked what he thought of the Sarah Palin nomination and what it meant for his campaign.

reason: Are you more qualified for the presidency than Sarah Palin?

Bob Barr: Absolutely. That takes nothing away from her. She may have been a very good governor, these last two years, of Alaska. She may have been the very best mayor that Wasilla, Alaska has ever had. That is not the same as having two degrees in international relations, having worked in foreign intelligence for a number of years, working as a U.S. attorney, spending eight years in the Congress, and having lived overseas. That's a higher level of development and understanding of foreign relations. I have it. She doesn't.

reason: What do you make of her actual record as mayor and as governor? McCain has presented her as a fellow maverick, but we've learned that she requested multiple earmarks, supported the Bridge to Nowhere…

Bob Barr: If McCain claims that he picked her because "she's a maverick, just like me," then she's not a maverick. Because he's not a maverick. I think he basically traded some short-term political gain for the long-term interests of the country.