Living and breathing in the Second City
There’s an interesting profile of Bob Barr over at WaPo. Bob Barr is serious:
Is there any human being on the planet more committed to his seriousness than Bob Barr? The 59-year-old Barr is so into the Founding Fathers that most of his phone numbers, including his cellphone, end in “1-7-7-6.” He only reads weighty books, his wife says, like “George Washington on Leadership.” He talks about himself in the third person. In his office, he keeps a photo of himself as a Republican congressman — calling for the impeachment of Bill Clinton. Even Bob Barr’s mustache is serious.
Seriously. In fact, I think his seriousness has worked against him. Despite Ron Paul coming off like a cantankerous old coot, there was something light about him that contributed to his appeal. Philosophically, I may be more aligned with Bob Barr than Ron Paul, and yet, I must admit I’m less interested in voting for him. The reasons are almost completely irrational. In fact, he’s running a decent campaign–maybe the best LIBERTARIAN campaign ever. But I’m still struggling.
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
-Carl Sandburg
Nicky Cheese
August 21st, 2008 at 11:06 pm
Sigh. As you know, I’m a vocal supporter of Barr and still I totally agree with you. I have the bumper sticker on my POS car, a campaign hat and I’ve even donated to the campaign. And yet, I do not feel as vibrant and passionate as I did in Ron Paul campaign. And it’s not the, comparatively speaking, lack of grassroots.
It’s Bob Barr himself. He’s more eloquent but less substantive. He’s less cranky but more dull. Moreover, he speaks with platitudes. No doubt, I still get inspired by him - as I did hearing him speak at RightOnline - but there are no “Ah-ha!” moments.
I miss the “cantankerous old coot”.
Nicky Cheese
August 22nd, 2008 at 9:43 am
A Barr makeover?
Wes Upchurch
October 30th, 2008 at 9:05 am
Keep in mind that Bob Barr is on the ballot next week, Ron Paul isn’t. Paul may have indroduced people to liberty, but he’s not the right person for carrying the freedom movement forward. Barr has been doing a much better job at getting mainstream coverage, and being taken seriously.
Austin Barrow
October 30th, 2008 at 9:28 am
I saw him last week on the news calling for Republicans and real conservatives to stand up and make their voices heard by voting for him, since we all know that McCain is going to lose. It’s a good argument that I’ve heard before from third parties, but this is the first time I’ve heard it on mainstream media.