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Barr Busts In

AUSTIN, TEXAS—If Al Gore was the day’s biggest surprise, the runner-up would have to be Bob Barr.

Barr, the Libertarian Party’s nominee for president, is holding court right now in the third floor lobby, surrounded by a gaggle of fans. His reception is oddly affectionate for a former Republican. One blogger looks like he’s about to ask a question—instead, he asks for an autograph. Another hands Barr his cell phone. “Can you talk to my brother for a second?” Another guy wants to ask him about his appearance in Borat. While Barr is answering a question about wiretapping, a kid goes up behind him and poses like he’s about to beat him up while his friend takes a picture.

What brings him to town? Barr is giving the keynote address this evening at RightOnline, the rival conservative blogger conference being held across the city. His Netroots Nation visit wasn’t anticipated, but conference political director Josh Orton said he was welcome as long as he paid the regular entrance fee.

I ask Barr why he thinks Democrats would vote for him. He goes straight for the wedge issue. “There’s no candidate out there who consistently stands for individual liberties,” he said. “You saw that with Obama’s embrace of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.”

But I have a different theory. Democrats might vote for Barr, but not because they like him. Rather, Barr’s candidacy is an opportunity for Democrats to split the right. Just like Rush Limbaugh told Republicans to vote for Hillary Clinton and thus perpetuate Democratic tensions, Democrats in safe Democratic states—whose votes won’t make a difference anyway—could vote for Barr. If he gets five percent nationally, the Libertarians get public funds the next time around. No harm done to Obama; lots of harm done to Republicans.

Barr says he wouldn’t be opposed to such an effort. “It’s not my concern,” he says. “We’ll take a vote, regardless of the motivation behind it.”

Separated at Birth: Bob Barr and Jeremiah Wright

This presidential race is full of celebrity look-alikes. Hillary Clinton and Star Trek's Tasha Yar. Fred Thompson and Javier Bardem. But rarely does someone intimately involved in the race look exactly like someone else intimately involved in the race. Behold the eerie resemblance of new Libertarian Party candidate Bob Barr to America's most famous pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright:

Other things the two men have in common: outspoken personalities, a love of TV cameras, and a roughly equal chance of winning the presidency.

Thanks to Slate's Bill Smee for spotting the resemblance.  

Who Is Bob Barr?

Former Georgia congressman and Clinton impeacher-in-chief Bob Barr announced today that he will be seeking the presidency as a candidate of the Libertarian Party. The first name that pops to mind is Ralph Nader. Republicans fear a repeat of 2000, with Barr siphoning votes from John McCain (although it’s also possible he’d sabotage Obama). Others wonder how Barr’s candidacy will play with Ron Paul supporters.

The Texas Republican, who has slowed his candidacy to a crawl in recent months—but hasn’t dropped out!—has come under pressure to make a third-party run for the presidency. Barr’s announcement appears to have closed the door on a Paul run, at least on the Libertarian ticket.

So what does Ron Paul think of Barr’s announcement? "Our thoughts are that Bob and Ron are friends and remain friends," said Paul spokesman Jesse Benton. You can see why. Some of Barr’s words today sounded as if they could have come out of Paul’s mouth: He accused both parties of "running a charity called the United States of America" and slammed Hillary Clinton for saying she’d "obliterate Iran" if they attacked Israel.

But whatever their similarities, Benton says Paul has no plans to endorse anyone—including Barr. "Ron Paul is a Republican and he’s going to be a part of the Republican party," he says.

Paul is still campaigning in upcoming primaries, including West Virginia and Kentucky. "He’s not going to be the nominee," Benton says. But the congressman maintains a "strong following" of 6 to 8 percent in most states and plans to continue running, he says.