The New York Times has a story today on Bob Barr, the presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party. One might expect that a liberal paper might want to exaggerate the strength of Barr’s candidacy at McCain’s expense.
Actually, it’s a fair look at where Barr stands as summer begins: the potential to do better than any libertarian candidate before, but as yet without the money to realize that potential.
Barr has shown no ability to attract the number of contributions that Ron Paul attracted. (I was not a Paul supporter, but his fundraising ability is undeniable.)
Barr won the LP nomination on the sixth ballot, after overcoming opposition from left-leaning libertarians. Some of them will not support him under any circumstances.
Instead, Barr’s better opportunity lies in persuading center-right libertarians, independents, and disaffected Republicans to support him.
If Barr wants to attract many newcomers to his candidacy, he will need far more than he has raised so far.