Friday, April 4, 2008

Bob Barr Weighing Presidential Run

Quite possibly the best news that could occur to the Libertarian Party.

Bob Barr Weighing Presidential Run

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File: Former Georgia Rep. Bob Barr was an impeachment manager against President Bill Clinton in 1998. (AP video still)

Former Republican Georgia Rep. Bob Barr is considering a run for president on the Libertarian Party ticket.

Barr told FOX News on Tuesday that he should know in the next few days whether he is going to go for it.

If he does decide to make an announcement in the next few days, Barr said it “would not be in either Washington or Atlanta.

Another source todl FOX News that the announcement should happen this weekend, probably on April 5. That is the day Barr is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the Heartland Libertarian Conference in Kansas City, Mo.

Barr, who joined the Libertarian Party after leaving Congress in 2003, is looking to attract conservatives who are unhappy with the choice of John McCain as the expected Republican presidential nominee. McCain and Barr are at odds primarily over the role of U.S troops in Iraq, although both agree that tough interrogation methods should not be permitted.

FITNews, who was first to report the possible presidential bid, wrote that Barr will receive the endorsement of Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul, a GOP presidential candidate who is still technically in the race but has not suggested he would throw his support to McCain. McCain and Paul, who ran on the Libertarian Party presidential ticket in 1988, also are at odds primarily over the role of U.S. troops in Iraq.

Barr, who represented Georgia’s 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House from 1995-2003 and served as a House manager during impeachment proceedings against former President Bill Clinton, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week that he identifies closely with Paul’s outlook.

“Ron Paul tapped into a great deal of that dissatisfaction and that awareness. Unfortunately, working through the Republican party structure, it became impossible for him to really move forward with his movement. But we have to have ….a rallying point out there to harness that energy, that freedom in this election cycle,” he said.

Click here to read the FITNews article on Barr’s possible run for president.

FOX News’ David M. Lewkowict contributed to this report.

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