The conventional wisdom is that Bob Barr’s third-party presidential bid probably won’t have much of an impact on the election or siphon off too many potential supporters of John McCain, but that doesn’t mean that Barr isn’t trying.
Last month he penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal attacking McCain on the issue of judicial nominations, the one area where McCain has been making inroads with the Right, laying out the case that “Judges Are No Reason to Vote for McCain.” And now the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that he has gone straight for the jugular, travelling to Focus on the Family headquarters in Colorado Springs:
Buried in a press release for Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate for president, was a mention that on Monday, Barr toured the offices of Focus on the Family, headed by James Dobson — a significant voice among evangelical Christians.
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Barr campaign manager Russell Verney said today that Barr did not meet with Dobson, who was recovering from surgery. But Barr did meet with Tom Minnery, senior vice president for Focus on the Family, and others.
Barr, Verney said, “had a great meeting and discussion with them.”
Of course, given that Barr espouses some views that are directly at odds with Dobson’s political agenda, it is unlikely that Dobson will ever throw his support his way. But considering that Dobson can’t seem to make up his mind about McCain, it can’t help McCain’s chances to have Barr hanging around FOF headquarters and meeting with Dobson’s right-hand man.
