How Democrats and Republicans Can Win Libertarian Votes!

In just about every poll and survey taken over the last few weeks, the presidential election between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney is getting tighter and tighter. For either candidate and his party to win in November, they're going to need every stray vote they can muster.

By some measures, about 10 to 15 percent of the electorate reliably votes from an essentially libertarian perspective (for more on this and related issues, go to the homepage for the Reason-Rupe Poll). These people want to reduce the size, scope, and spending of government when it comes to economic activity and social issues. There are more than enough libertarian voters out there to swing the election in either direction, but for Obama or Romney to win them over, each will need to stress different things.

Here are two videos from Reason TV that lay out what the president and the challenger might do to woo libertarians—and win the White House.

Produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie, who also hosts. Each video is about 2 minutes long. For downloadable versions, full text, and supporting links, go to Reason TV's archive now.

How Obama and Democrats Can Appeal to Libertarian Voters: Get  transparent fast, end the drug war, and cut military spending.

How Romney and Republicans Can Appeal to Libertarian Voters: Get serious about cutting spending, bringing the troops home, and butting out of people's personal lives.