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The possibility of a run by Barr has sent shudders through the mainstream of the Republican party.
Barr, who will probably not declare his intentions for several days, has already been labeled a "spoiler."
In an interview with the Inquirer, Barr dismissed those accusations as whining.
"The notion that Republicans see a third-party candidate as spoiling their chances simply illustrates the arrogance of the two-party system," Barr said. [The full text of the interview is below.]
Republicans may have good cause to worry.
A run by Barr could be to John McCain "what Ralph Nader was to Al Gore - ruinous," wrote George Will in Newsweek. Some party experts believe Barr could siphon off essential conservative votes from Sen. John McCain, about whom many rightward voters have been less than enthusiastic.
Right-talking radio hosts - Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, and Ann Coulter - have expressed reservations about McCain or have been downright dismissive.
The American Spectator editorialized last month that "conservatives see the choice of McCain or the Democrats as analogous to picking between being punched in the stomach or kneed in the groin."
Enter Bob Barr, who rose to prominence during the 1990s as a Republican party pit bull.
He led the charge to impeach Bill Clinton, wrote the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (which said states did not have to recognize gay marriages performed in other states), and was a self-appointed four-star general in the "war on drugs." All impeccable conservative credentials.
But after losing his House seat in 2002, Barr underwent a conversion of sorts.
Barr shocked many Republicans when he became a paid consultant for the American Civil Liberties Union specializing in privacy issues.
He has renounced the war on drugs.
He's become a thorn in the side of Bush administration, criticizing what he perceives to be abuses of power and the Patriot Act.
Hipsters will know Barr best from his appearance in Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, in which he eats a piece of cheese "from Kazakhstan" offered by Borat.
In 2006, he joined the Libertarian Party. He spoke with The Inquirer this week about why he's running.
Inquirer: If you decide to run for president, why?
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