Bob Barr

The internet loves to destroy the tradition of not judging books by their covers. As I clearly said, I was afraid of this guy as a Libertarian candidate. His ex-neocon status made me wonder if McCain just might be OK. I have to say he doesn't make a good first impression, and I'm not sure I "got" where he was coming from for a while. Looking over the evidence against him:

The Defense of Marriage Act was actually a truly conservative solution to an important problem. It just sounds like Pat Robertson brand bullshit. It actually would have removed the issue of marriage from the Federal level and respected states' rights to define marriage as they see fit. That would mean conservative states could have their barely secular man-woman marriages, Utah could give every man a harem, and California could allow gay disabled Wiccan illegal aliens. Liberty at its finest.

Secondly, I was a hardcore conservative for roughly the first Bush term. I would have voted for higher spending to fight drugs and more authority. To be honest I wasn't fully convinced that the dug war should end until I researched drug policy for an Original Advocacy. My primary education on the subject came from the Cato Institute's handbook for Congress on the War on Drugs. I think Bob Barr had a very similar turning point when he joined the Libertarian Party. I don't believe he will waste our money on more bullshit drug policy anymore.

The impeachment of Clinton was actually legitimate, though unnecessary. Barr certainly had an agenda in supporting it, but it's really irrelevant - it just makes him more likely to call Clinton on his mistakes. They were still mistakes that needed to be accounted for, even if was somewhat of a show trial. Public officials cannot be allowed to commit perjury, and I'm glad Barr stands for that.

There are a number of things where you can choose whether or not to cut him any slack. A change of heart? It's his best excuse, but I can attribute to the fact that it's easy, and almost natural, for even Neocons to wake up to true conservatism.

He also seems to be rather moderate (compared to his trainer - I mean, running mate, Wayne Allyn Root) which could actually mean a smoother transition, if by some miracle he became president. A little sensibility is a lot to ask, I know, but withdrawing from NATO and the U.N. overnight might not work out so well. We sure wouldn't want to blow our incredible opportunity this year.