Barr holds up his redacted copy of the Bill of Rights while testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on July 25. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
by Mark Silva
Most voters - 55 percent - say that Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr should be included in the fall series of presidential debates, Zogby Interactive has found.
Not quite as many - 45 percent - say independent candidate Ralph Nader should be included.
Among political independents, sentiment for a third point of view on stage in the nationally televised debates runs strong: 69 percent say Barr, a former Republican congressman from Georgia, should share the stage with Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.
Democrats and Republicans are less willing to share the stage: 39 percent of the Democrats surveyed told Zogby that Barr should be included, and 41 percent of the Republicans surveyed said so.
The younger the voter, the more the support for Barr's voice.
The Barr campaign professes itself "heartened to learn that most voters don't buy into the 'spoiler' argument being espoused by partisan talking heads.'' That's how Russell Verney, campaign manager for Barr and former campaign manager for H. Ross Perot, puts it:
"People want real change and they know that they are not going to get it from a Republican or a Democrat,'' Verney says. "America's only hope for change is by allowing more competition in the political process and that means opening the debates to any candidate who can meet the ballot access criteria."
In 1992, Verney notes, Perot was running at just 7 percent in the national polls when he was allowed to participate in the presidential debates. He garnered 19 percent of the vote that year.
For admission to the debate stage, the Commission on Presidential Debates requires that candidates get their names on "enough state ballots to have at least a mathematical chance of securing an Electoral College majority in the 2008 general election.'' It also requires that a candidate "have a level of support of at least 15 percent of the national electorate as determined by five selected national public opinion polling organizations.''
Barr, a member of Congress from 1995 to 2003, served on the Judiciary Committee. He had been United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, appointed by President Reagan. He since has left the Republican Party, and has secured the Libertarian nomination.
But as things stand today, the debates don't take Libertarians. Barr won't be appearing at the presidential debates on Sept. 26 at the Univeristy of Mississippi in Oxford, on Oct. 7 at Belmont University in Nashville or on Oct. 15 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y.
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Comments
Mark, you're basing your article on a ZOGBY "interactive poll"?
How the Trib's journalistic standards have fallen.
The decline in media standards is connected with the new (Aug. 17th) Project for Excellence in Journalism study which shows that fewer and fewer people trust journalists. For example, only 18% trust the New York Times, the Swamp writers favorite source for news. And since 1998, trust in CNN has plummted 12 points. Regular readership of newspapers has declined in the last 14 years from 58% to 34% of the public. The link to the full Pew report is http://people-press.org/report/444/news-media
This study was out Sunday. And the Swamp usually runs articles on PEJ reports. But not this one. It's easy to see why.
Posted by: bruce | August 19, 2008 5:22 PM
Hey, if Barr can take a big LEAP into the midst of this thing, why not NADAR??? I would love nothing more than to see poor left out of it all NADAR back in the center of the DEM mix. LETS DO IT!
Posted by: read it and weep ! | August 19, 2008 6:21 PM
"...sentiment for a third point of view on stage in the nationally televised debates runs strong."
How about just a second point of view?
Both Status QuObama and McSame voted to allow domestic spying, they continue to fund commercial, overseas wars for their cronies, they allow abortion, they cage-in protesters, they haven't done anything to stop uncontrolled immigration.
That's no "Change." In fact, that is the same policy G.W. Bush created and follows. The "Democrats" and "Republicans" are simply different factions of the SAME party - the Globalist Elite.
Posted by: DRUMZ | August 20, 2008 12:11 PM
Bob Barr is fighting for our freedoms. We should should be proud to have him express his point of view. Pick him in the polls so he can get in the debates.
Posted by: Mootsa Gootsa | August 20, 2008 12:32 PM
I'm all for Barr's involvement. He is a true conservative. I used to be one before Bush/ Cheney/McCain made a mockery of the Republican Party. I'll take Barr over McCain any day.
Posted by: Tim | August 20, 2008 2:41 PM
Barr should be included, but he won't be. I won't go as far as to say "there is not a dime's worth of difference" between McCain and Obama, but hearing someone actually conservative would be refreshing.
Posted by: Pat F | August 21, 2008 1:00 AM
It is unbelievable that a nation that claims to be free is treating two viable candidates this way. If Barr and Nader are not included in the debates we are no better that the Hussein regime, Castro regime or the forty years of communism in Russia and China.
Posted by: David | August 21, 2008 9:30 AM
One has to wonder what Obama and McCain are afraid of? Might it be that if Barr and Nadar join the debates, Obama and McCain won't be able to have "canned" responses to only one other set of mind-numbing talking points?
They might have to think on their feet, which, as we have seen on the campaign trail, doesn't always turn out so well for them.
Posted by: Aaron | August 21, 2008 3:24 PM
if both the democrats and republicans have wasted their time at their conventions .shouldn't the other parties grab a camera and answer Americans question's under equal air time.
lets get moving boys.
Americans support a more efficient, ethical, and to be held to accountability type of government
mines but to do or go home.
Posted by: stephenrachuba@gmail.com | August 25, 2008 11:40 PM
I am republican but I will never buy McCain's change! There is a lot of deception in their party. Mccain does not put the country first, HE PUTS HIS POLITICAL CAREER FIRST. Palin is the same with McCain. I AM, VOTING FOR OBAMA 08
Posted by: Pat | September 6, 2008 2:39 PM
You know a third party candidate doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell if the media won't give them the time of day. ALL parties should have a voice and a platform on which to speak.
Posted by: dbsuma | October 22, 2008 7:44 PM