Bob Barr, 2008 Libertarian Presidential Candidate

Dizzy just reported that after the sixth nominating runoff ballot, Wayne Root tipped his support to Bob Barr who was running almost even with female candidate Dr Ruwart. The nominee is usually selected by the fourth round, indicating the level of competitive interest in this years choice.

My personal view is that this choice could represent a lost opportunity for the Libertarian Party to grow in committed members even if it gets more votes than normal this year. It is the most diverse of all political parties and a younger more diverse liberal wing might have become a victim of the entrenchment of Bob Barr with the conservative wing . Barr, historically a conservative southern Republican, while technically a member of the party for three years, only declared his candidacy for the nomination in the last two weeks.

Could it be that Barr jumped in not for the benefit of the Libertarian Party but just to provide himself with a soap box in order to advance his personal agenda?

Could his personal agenda include hurting John McCain by siphoning off enough conservative, Republican and independent votes to guarantee a McCain loss especially given his seemingly unlikely uphill battle after the generalized disappointment of 8 years of Bush/Cheney?

Dr Ruwart reportedly declined to campaign for the VP slot, so that may go to Root. We’ll know later tonight.

If Barack is nominated and Hillary is not chosen as VP, the Libertarian Party might have had an opportunity to garner new, energetic support with a female Libertarian in light of increasing disappointment with the two major parties and a newly energized female voting block due to Hillary’s candidacy.

Dr Ruwart, although a loyal long term Libertarian and previous candidate, might have appealed more to the dissatisfied general public than Barr. She might have been able in light of all current developments to help the Libertarians draw new support. To most Americans she would seem to be a fresh female face perhaps with some extra credibility as an accomplished medical research scientist and successful entrepreneur. to say nothing of her passion for Libertarian principles.