Yeas & Nays - Bob Barr takes on the ‘king of infomercials’

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Bob Barr takes on the ‘king of infomercials’

POSTED May 21, 2:53 AM

For some of us, Ron Paul just isn’t enough. And for those very folks, Reason magazine held a debate at its Dupont Circle offices Tuesday afternoon among the candidates vying to be the Libertarian Party’s candidate this fall. Or, as Reason Editor Matt Welch put it, who might have the chance “to Naderize John McCain” this year.

And now, your cast of characters:

_AP

The front-runner: That would be former GOP Rep. Bob Barr, who claimed that we’re on the cusp of a “Libertarian era” and said that “inside the heart of every American beats the heart of a libertarian.”

The spoiler: none other than Mike Gravel, who’s fresh off his unsuccessful bid to be the Democratic Party’s spoiler. The Dems “shut me off,” he argued, before boasting, “I have a record. Nobody has a record like I have.”

The wild card: Nevada resident Wayne Allyn Root, who variously described himself as a small-businessman, a Vegas oddsmaker, Barack Obama’s 1983 classmate at Columbia and “the king of infomercials” (in fact, he pledged to campaign largely through the medium of infomercials).

“If you ask the Washington media, there’s only one candidate,” he said. “That’s Bob Barr and he’s already won. I think that’s absurd.”

So who would he prefer as a running mate? “It’s way too early to think about that.”

Wow, it’s starting to sound like a real presidential campaign in here. Except, that is, for the calls to get rid of Cabinet departments and all that.

We were informed at the outset that there were 11 other Libertarian candidates who didn’t show up. Or perhaps their campaigns just couldn’t afford the airfare.

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People, power and politics in the beltway, by the Washington Examiner's Jeff Dufour and Patrick Gavin. Got a juicy tip? Send an e-mail to yan@dcexaminer.com.