Bob Barr Enters Race as Libertarian

Former Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia launched a presidential bid on Monday. Barr is a former Republican turned Libertarian. He argues that the Republican party does not do enough to cut back the federal government.

As I mentioned in an earlier entry--where I predicted he would run--his bid would at the least cancel out Ralph Nader's support on opposite sides of the political spectrum. It may even prove to be more damaging to John McCain than Nader would be to the Democratic nominee.

Ron Paul, who was formerly a Libertarian, has been attracting around 5-10% of the vote in the recent Republican primaries, even though McCain secured the nomination in February. Those 5-10% won't necessarily jump on McCain's bandwagon, and might vote for Barr to show their disapproval of McCain.

Although it's unlikely Barr's bid will be a game-changer in November, I'm going to keep my eye on his impact. I genuinely believe that he could be the next Nader or Perot, because if the polls are any indication, it's going to be a close one in November.