Libertarian Party Nomination Campaign
Barr publicly announced his candidacy on May 12, 2008. He commented that his run would give the American people a "meaningful choice" to vote for in November, preventing them from having to "hold their nose and pull a lever... for the lesser of two evils." During his speech, Barr cited out of control government growth as the primary reason for his run. In response to the announcement, Republican consultant Christopher Barron countered the claim of George Will on the campaign's potential "spoiler effect." Baron stated that Barr's run "is unlikely to hurt Sen. McCain in any significant way" but would aide the Republican Party "by siphoning off some of the enthusiasm among college voters and antiwar advocates for Obama."
During an interview with Newsweek following his entrance into the race, Barr was asked why he had announced his candidacy only two weeks before the Libertarian Party convention. He remarked that he had not "seriously consider until about five or six weeks" prior to his official announcement. When asked about the "spoiler effect", he stated that "the votes are not going to come from people that are committed to voting for McCain." Also during the interview, Barr articulated that his campaign would make use of the internet with methods similar to those employed by Ron Paul and Barack Obama to mobilize young voters. Barr attempted to tap into Ron Paul's resources and supporters to raise funds, and used the same company that Paul used, Terra Eclipse, to design his campaign website. Stephen P. Gordon, who worked for Paul, was hired as the e-Campaign manager, and Doug Bandow, who previously worked as an advisor for both Ron Paul and Ronald Reagan, was hired as the Senior Policy Advisor.
Barr's campaign manager Russ Verney sent a fundraising memorandum on May 19 that included his projections for the campaign, and compared Barr favorably to Ross Perot. His predictions included participation in the nationally televised debates in October 2008 and a popular vote total of 19%. The manager commented that this was "no ordinary presidential campaign" and that Barr would do well because "America is swamped in Libertarian information." May 18, 2008 Rasmussen polling reports showed Barr at 6% nationally in a four-way race with Barack Obama, John McCain, Ralph Nader. He led Nader by 2%. A breakdown of Barr's support showed that 7% of Republicans, 5% of Democrats and 5% of unaffiliated voters supported his campaign. The report concluded that most Americans did not have enough information about Barr to form an opinion. May 20 polls from the Insider Advantage-Majority Opinion Survey of 652 individuals showed that in his home state of Georgia, Barr would receive 8% of the popular vote, placing him in third place, and 27% behind Barack Obama for second.
Barr participated in the Libertarian Party presidential debate, an event sponsored by Reason Magazine, on May 20, 2008, at Dupont Circle. Fellow contenders Mike Gravel and Wayne Allyn Root each appeared at the event. During the discussion, Barr remarked that "inside the heart of every American beats the heart of a libertarian", and said that the nation was on the verge of entering a "Libertarian era." He also stated that as president he would eliminate the Department of Education, a mainstay of the party platform. Later in the debate, Barr's opponent, Root, criticized the Washington media for its portrayal of Barr as the "only candidate", an action he described as "absurd".
Read more about this topic: Bob Barr Presidential Campaign, 2008, Campaign Developments
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