It looks like Bob Barr is finally heeding the call of my typo-titled petition and will seek the Liberarian nomination for President. I think this is very good news. Barr is simply outstanding on a lot of libertarian issues, and he’s certainly libertarian on all the top issues of the day, like the the war and civil liberties.
That doesn’t mean he should give a pass, by any means. He has a dubious track record from his stint in Congress to account for, and he should fully and publicly account for it before he is considered for the nomination. But it’s in all of our best interest to give him a fair hearing.
And as a bonus, a website is reporting that Ron Paul may endorse Barr’s candidacy, which would be wonderful but weird, since Paul is still officially a candidate himself.
In other LP presidential contender news, you may have heard that former Democratic Alaskan Senator Mike Gravel joined the Libertarian Party last week and declared his candidacy for the presidential nomination. I think that’s, um, nice, but just way beyond the pale. Not that Gravel doesn’t have a lot going for him. For leaking the Pentagon Papers alone, he’s an American hero. But his economic policies are about as unlibertarian as you can get.