Bob Barr

Bob Barr, a former Republican congressman, has announced he is interested in running for president as the Libertarian Party's candidate. Interestingly, he not only used an internet site to make the announcement, but also specifically credited internet support as one of the reasons he's thinking of running, saying "There’s been a tremendous expressed to me both directly and indirectly on the Internet." See an article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution here. As the article indicates, he seems to be directly tying his campaign to that of Ron Paul. In a way, his use of the internet makes sense. As another article in The AJC indicates, in person he often draws fairly small crowds - fewer than 50 people in one recent appearance. By posting on Antiwar.com, he not only taps into a crowd likely to be his supporters but also just gets to speak to a much larger audience at once.

I question though, whether this strategy makes sense. After all, the purpose of a third-party campaign isn't to win, but to get your message out. What good does it do just to preach to the choir if that's your goal?