Joker in the deck

The clueless MSM thought Bob Barr would win the Libertarian Party nomination by acclamation; it took six ballots. Now, the clueless MSM thinks of Barr only as a "spoiler" for John McCain. Better think again:

A simplistic "spoiler" conception of Barr's LP bid ignores certain wild-card scenarios. For instance, what if Barr takes advantage of the "Hillbillies for Hillary" phenomenon and capitalizes on Barack Obama's weaknesses by campaigning in West Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania? (The "Bitter for Barr" vote?) Ex-Libertarian Ron Paul got 16 percent of the vote in the Pennsylvania Republican primary, and 128,000 votes is nothing to sneer at in a key swing state.
It is possible (though by no means certain) that by appealing to disaffected voters of both major parties, Barr could force Republicans and Democrats alike to alter their campaign calculus. As Barr's running mate, Vegas oddsmaker Wayne Allyn Root, might say, it's like playing Texas Hold 'Em with a joker in the deck.

David Weigel is also tired of ignorant "spoiler" talk.

BTW, this morning I spoke to Georgia LP Political Director Doug Craig, who said, "When we got back [from the Denver national convention] we had a ton of e-mails and voicemail from people wanting to get involved with the campaign and join the party, so it's already having an impact."

Right now, I'm using Wi-Fi in a McDonald's in Calhoun, Ga., having spent the last two days visiting friends and family in Georgia. In 20 minutes, I'll be on Jeff Crouere's "Ringside Politics" radio show in Louisiana.