Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr got half a million votes. It's not the million-plus his supporters had hoped for, or the 922,000 that Ed Clark got in 1980 (the Libertarian high-water mark). But it's the second-best Libertarian showing, besting Harry Browne's 485,000 in 1996 and Ron Paul's 431,000 in 1988.
According to Newsmax, Barr is pleased with his showing. And it looks like he cost McCain North Carolina:
When The Associated Press declared Obama the winner in the state, he had a 13,693-vote edge over McCain. By then Barr had already tallied more than 25,200 votes in North Carolina, according to the Boston Globe.
Barr, a former Republican congressman from Georgia, is thought to have siphoned far more votes from McCain than from Obama.
No Democratic presidential candidate had won North Carolina since Jimmy Carter was elected in 1976.
For a time, Barr was also the difference in Indiana. With almost all precincts reporting, he had 1.1 percent of the vote while Obama had 49.9 percent and McCain had 49 percent. In the end, however, Obama totaled 50 percent, McCain 49 percent, and Barr 1 percent.
“This is just the beginning of the new Libertarian Party,” Barr said in a statement.
“In these next four years, there will be an even greater need for a political party fully dedicated to lower taxes, smaller government, and more individual freedom — a voice for liberty.”
I certainly agree with that! If only the Libertarians didn't have their heads in the sand regarding the Islamofascist enemies of Western Civilization.