Fresh Loaf

Writing for his AJC blog Friday, Republican-turned-Libertarian Bob Barr touted the overwhelming success and popularity of Canada’s single-payer, government-run health insurance system.

Not intentionally, of course.

Barr was actually trying to assert how lousy Canada’s health care system is. To do this, he noted the number of Canadians he says have sought medical care in the U.S. since Barack Obama’s inauguration:

Since Barack Obama was inaugurated President just over seven months ago, some 17,500 Canadian [sic] have come to the U.S. to receive health care. [. . .] And still there are those in Washington extolling the benefit of a government-controlled, single-payor heath care system .  .  .  like they have in Canada.

17,500 people. That’s abooot enough Canadians to fill a hockey arena, eh?

But there are 33 million people in Canada. Bob Barr is telling us 99.91 percent of Canadians will not seek medical care in the U.S. this year. If anything, Barr’s number proves Canadians overwhelmingly prefer their own health care to American healthcare.

Keep in mind Canadians are wealthy and mobile. 75 percent of Canadians live within 100 miles of the U.S and 1.4 million Canadians made overnight visits to the United States in June alone.

With millions of Canadians traveling to the U.S. annually, 17,500 is a shockingly low number.

Some perspective: If a mere one-percent of Canadian visitors to the U.S. sprained an ankle, chipped a tooth, needed Flonase, had a heart attack, choked on a sandwich, or bought prescription sunglasses while visiting the U.S., the number of Canadians receiving medical care in the U.S. annually would be somewhere in the 150,000-200,000 range.

Canadians clearly prefer their system to ours.

Some more perspective: How many Americans travel abroad for medical care?

A Deloitte survey estimates 750,000 Americans traveled abroad in 2007 for medical care. By next year, Deloitte estimates 6,000,000 Americans will go overseas for medical treatment.

750,000 to 6,000,000 is a wide range. But using the Bob Barr Method of Measuring Health Care Satisfaction by Tallying Medical Tourism®, it means America’s 300,000,000ish citizens are 277 to 2,222 percent more likely to travel abroad for health care than Canadians are to travel to this U.S, and therefore much more dissatisfied than Canadians.

Bob Barr is an accidental socialist.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that condemned Georgia inmate Troy Anthony Davis should get a chance to present new evidence in court, according to the AP and other news sources.

Keeping track of the Davis case over the past two years has been like watching a nail-biting tennis match — with a human life at stake. Davis, who was convicted and sentenced to death in 1991 for the murder of an off-duty Savannah police officer, has twice three times had his scheduled execution delayed as his case was reviewed, re-reviewed and shuffled from one court to another, yet he’d not been granted another day in court — until now.

According to the AJC:

The high court ordered a federal judge to “receive testimony and findings of fact as to whether evidence that could not have been obtained at the time of trial clearly establishes [Davis’s] innocence.”

The two dissenters on the Court were Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Anyone surprised?

In his majority opinion, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that the questions about the Davis case indicate too great a chance that the verdict was wrong:

“Imagine a petitioner in Davis’ situation who possesses new evidence conclusively and definitively proving, beyond any scintilla of doubt, that he is an innocent man. The dissent’s reasoning would allow such a petitioner to be put to death nonetheless.”

(more…)

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Former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr, R-Marietta, continues to push for the repeal of some of his most notorious achievements as a congressman, such as the Defense of Marriage Act and the eponymous “Barr Amendment,” a slick piece of legislation from 1998 that cut the legs out from under Initiative 59, a referendum to legalize medical marijuana in Washington, D.C.

The Barr Amendment, which was tacked onto that year’s omnibus spending bill, effectively prohibited Initiative 59 from being implemented and even forbade D.C. officials from making public the referendum’s vote tally. (It was another year before the ACLU discovered the initiative had passed with a 69 percent majority.)

Barr later revised his amendment to prevent the nation’s capitol from ever holding another medical marijuana referendum.

But leopards do sometimes change their spots. In the years since he left office, Barr has famously gone from being one of the country’s most outspoken anti-drug crusaders to becoming a leader of the Libertarian Party and a friend of the ACLU.

Last week, the House of Reps finally voted to repeal the Barr Amendment. Its author was quick to signal his approval via a press release:

Last week’s vote by the House of Representatives lifting the 11-year old prohibition on the District of Columbia from taking steps to pass and implement any measure decriminalizing or legalizing the sale or use of marijuana in the District, represents an important step in the direction of individual freedom and properly limiting the power of the federal government.

(more…)

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Jim Galloway at the AJC’s Political Insider points us to an op-ed about longtime death row inmate Troy Davis in today’s New York Times by Bob Barr. The former Libertarian presidential candidate and Georgia congressman, who says he’s a death-penalty supporter, says Georgia might be about to execute an innocent man.

This threat of injustice has come about because the lower courts have misread the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, a law I helped write when I was in Congress. As a member of the House Judiciary Committee in the 1990s, I wanted to stop the unfounded and abusive delays in capital cases that tend to undermine our criminal justice system.

With the effective death penalty act, Congress limited the number of habeas corpus petitions that a defendant could file, and set a time after which those petitions could no longer be filed. But nothing in the statute should have left the courts with the impression that they were barred from hearing claims of actual innocence like Troy Davis’s.

It would seem in everyone’s interest to find out as best we can what really happened that night 20 years ago in a dim parking lot where Officer Mark MacPhail was shot dead. With no murder weapon, surveillance videotape or DNA evidence left behind, the jury that judged Mr. Davis had to weigh the conflicting testimony of several eyewitnesses to sift out the gunman from the onlookers who had nothing to do with the heinous crime.

…

I am a firm believer in the death penalty, but I am an equally firm believer in the rights and protections guaranteed by the Constitution. To execute Troy Davis without having a court hear the evidence of his innocence would be unconscionable and unconstitutional.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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The AJC is sending Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Cynthia Tucker to Washington D.C. to serve as the paper’s political columnist, according to the latest, seemingly hourly reorganization update from uber-Editor Julia Wallace to her beleaguered staff.

Apparently, the change has been in the works for months, but my initial reaction is that it’s an odd move for a company that seems to be shrinking its focus to the very local. Wallace’s memo suggests Tucker, who also serves as editorial page editor, will be writing just for the AJC, as opposed to the Cox News Service.

Here’s how Wallace explains the move, from a PR release:

“Our nation is facing historic changes and challenges, and decisions made in D.C. and those who make them hold great interest for our audience,” said AJC Editor Julia Wallace. “We are excited that Cynthia is embarking on a new opportunity to provide compelling content and to continue journalism’s vital function of a government watchdog. She’s known for tackling hot topics such as voting rights, immigration reform and investing in education. This is a great move for Cynthia, the AJC, and most importantly, our audience.”

(more…)

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You could go to your local bar to watch the Election Night returns, you could fight the crowds at Manuel’s or you could party down with the parties – that is, the official political parties and their major candidates.

The Georgia Democratic Party and the Obama campaign will be cutting a rug at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Atlanta, beginning at 7 p.m. RSVP required.

Democratic Senate hopeful Jim Martin will be partying separately, in the Park Tavern’s event facility overlooking Piedmont Park.

Republicans, on the other hand, prefer to cluster together for warmth. Most GOP bashes will be consolidated in the Intercontinental Hotel in Buckhead.

We also have a home-grown presidential candidate, former Cobb County Congressman Bob Barr. The Libertarians will be holding their Election Night gala at the Mansour Center in Marietta. No, I’ve never heard of it, either, and I used to work up there.

The shindig begins around 7:30 p.m. and Barr is expected to address the crowd at 9:30 p.m. As the party’s own less-than-optimistic website notes, “If you don’t hear any noise, look for suite 100.”

Are there any other Election Night wing-dings we should know about?

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Libertarian Presidential nominee and former CL columnist Bob Barr was interviewed by Liz Gorman of Wonkette during Friday’s debate between the Barack Obama and John McCain. Skip the “festive” guy talking about conspiracies and start watching at 1:50. Barr shows his human side when he’s asked whether facial hair has any place in our armed forces.

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Former Georgia Congressman and current Libertarian presidential nominee Bob Barr has been an outspoken supporter of Troy Davis, the death row inmate who received an eleventh-hour stay of execution from the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday.

Here’s Barr’s reaction to the stay

“While the death penalty is an important tool in our legal system, it should only be used in cases where there is absolutely no doubt of a person’s guilt. This was not the case with Troy Davis.”

“I hope the facts in Davis’ case can be reexamined in order to address the unanswered questions before once again deciding his fate. As a strong supporter of the death penalty, I do not advocate for clemency lightly.  However, in the case of Troy Davis, the broader questions of fairness and public faith in criminal justice deserved another look.”

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 — At Live Apartment Fire, CL gets some props from Doug Richards for the “delightfully evil” cover photo of Bob Barr that was shot by Joeff Davis. And Doug contrasts that with the shadowy photo of John McCain in the Atlantic that made Johnny Mac’s crew go ballistic and forced the magazine’s editor to apologize because the photographer altered the pic to make McCain look sinister.

– Over at Politits, DCup has a little fun with the government’s trillion-dollar bail-out of what seems like every financial company on Wall Street. Since they aren’t paying their debts, then surely they don’t expect her to pay what she owes them. Right?

— A.man.I is concerned by speculation that white folks are having a difficult time voting for a black man. At My Urban Report, he throws in his two cents worth.

— Wednesday is “Car-Free Day” in Decatur. And Decatur Metro isn’t happy because it’s the one day of the week that being carless isn’t practical for him. Don’t worry. Your’s won’t be the only automobile clogging Poncey on the way to downtown Atlanta and then back again on a “car free” day. But at least he’ll feel guilty about it.

—  Dave at Rather Than Working has a new crib. Living up to his blog’s name, he makes a list of all the things he was supposed to do over the weekend … but didn’t. Ah, the fine art of procrastination lives.

— And, finally, at Oh The Joys, there’s a poignant post  where she recalls a visit to the psychiatric ward to see a suicidal friend, and taking with her a tape player cued up to her friend’s favorite U2 song. More proof that music heals.

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Troy Anthony Davis, who is scheduled for execution tomorrow despite a heap of evidence that suggests he might be innocent, has gathered the support of former President Jimmy Carter, Nobel Peace Prize-winner Desmond Tutu, Pope Benedict XVI, the Rev. Al Sharpton, U.S. Rep. John Lewis, Libertarian presidential hopeful Bob Barr, and New York Times columnist Bob Herbert.

But his only really hope lies with the Supreme Court of Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court, and — yeah, right — George Bush.

Yesterday’s AJC described a visit the Rev. Sharpton paid to Davis on Georgia’s death row:

“He was not overly optimistic or pessimistic,” said the Rev. Sharpton, who visited Davis … at the request of Davis’ family. “He was suprisingly upbeat. He seemed like he was depending on his faith to see him through.”

Herbert, in his Friday Times column, opined:

Putting someone to death whose guilt is uncertain is always perverted, but there’s an extra dose of perversion in this case.

The United States Supreme Court is scheduled to make a decision on whether to hear a last-ditch appeal by Mr. Davis on Sept. 29. That’s six days after the state of Georgia plans to kill him.

And this morning, NPR chimed in, quoting the Southern regional director of Amnesty International, Jared Feuer:

“Troy Anthony Davis’ case symbolizes all that is wrong with the death penalty. You have questions of improper witness handling. You have procedural obstacles that get in the way of the truth. You have issues of race and, ultimately, you have a system that can’t go back and correct its mistakes.”

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Last week, former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr won a legal battle to get on the Nov. 4 ballot in Pennsylvania as the Libertarian presidential nominee. A local Republican Party official had filed a lawsuit last month to have Barr’s name stricken from the ballot, despite an earlier pledge by John McCain that he would not tolerate party underlings trying to restrict ballot access for third-party candidates.

Well, Barr has returned the favor by filing suit in Texas to have both McCain and Barrack Obama tossed from that state’s ballot. According to the Dallas Morning News, Barr is arguing that both major parties missed a state deadline to certify the names of their candidates.

The Libertarians are contending that the Democratic and Republican nominees are disqualified from appearing on the ballot because they missed the state’s Aug. 26 deadline to certify candidates. During the national conventions, Mr. Obama was not voted as the nominee until Aug. 27 and Mr. McCain claimed the GOP nomination on Sept. 3.

Rather than dismissing the suit, the Texas Supreme Court has asked both parties to file responses by Monday. Stay tuned.

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Following CL’s lead, the New Yorker also has a feature story on Bob Barr this week.

It’s pretty good, but they spelled his name wrong.

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We writers are pleased when people read our articles and we’re thrilled when they take the time to send us a comment. So imagine my giddiness yesterday when I saw that one Zac Carter had penned, er, tapped a 1,280-word response to my cover story about Bob Barr.

Apparently, the article about Barr’s efforts to win votes as the Libertarian candidate for president spoke to Carter. While he didn’t address the details of the story itself, he offered a veritable cri de coeur about his own disillusionment with the Republican Party. Here’s an edited excerpt:

The Republican Party today would be unrecognizable to my favorite Republicans of yesterday, such as Barry Goldwater, who said, “A government that is big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take it all away.”

As I heard one of the presidential candidates say in regards to these stimulus checks, “Whose economy are we stimulating here? Ours or Chinas? We are borrowing more money from China so everyone can go buy more stuff made in China.”

I get it, others in the GOP get it, so why doesn’t the party leadership?

I can’t take anymore disrespect for conservative values, and unless the Republican Party wakes up and gets its head on straight real soon, I will be taking my vote, time, energy, money and passion from the GOP and giving it to the Libertarian Party.

Even Reagan said, “Libertarianism is the very heart and soul of conservatism.” I will be doing everything I can to sway like-minded conservatives to join me in this exodus and vote for Bob Barr for president and Wayne Root for vice president. Both were recently Republicans and are among countless conservatives I’ve heard say, “It wasn’t that I left the Republican Party, it was the party that left me.”

Carter’s entire comment can be read here. If I’d known he had so much to say about the matter, I would’ve gotten him to co-author the article and saved myself a lot of time.

BTW, if you, too, are interested in Bob Barr and the Libertarian Party, don’t forget to check out CL’s Big Bob Barr Page.

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Today’s Air Loaf features CL’s Chanté LaGon and Scott Henry discussing Bob Barr’s potential to be a spoiler in the U.S. presidential race — the subject of this week’s cover story.

Air Loaf is broadcast weekdays on 1690 WMLB-AM at approximately 8:10 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.

Download

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It’s the biggest night of the year for Georgia Libertarians. Daniel Adams, the state party chairman, seems energized and a bit anxious as he crisscrosses the room greeting guests. In a few minutes, the Libertarian Party’s 2008 presidential nominee is expected to arrive as the guest of honor, and Adams wants his group’s chief fundraising banquet to exceed everyone’s expectations.

Compared with most big-city political confabs, however, this one feels a bit, well, small-time. The Dunwoody hotel setting is nice enough, but the ballroom space is so cavernous it makes the modest crowd appear even smaller. The ill-fitting blazers and mismatched ties worn by some guests suggest a blue-collar demographic that’s a far cry from the cliques of deep-pocketed lawyers and lobbyists who typically haunt such events. Then there are the guys who stand out because of their long hair or eccentric appearance, such as an older man wearing a black leather jacket and a black T-shirt dotted with white skulls.

It’s no stretch to imagine that the largely male, suburban, middle-aged, outsiderish gathering of white folks wouldn’t feel out of place at Dragon*Con. Which is fitting, since Dragon*Con founder Ed Kramer is among the attendees, dressed head-to-toe in black and wheeling about on an electric scooter.

When former Congressman Bob Barr and wife Jeri arrive at the reception, there’s no public-address announcement, no Secret Service detail and no sudden crush of well-wishers seeking face time with the would-be president. Most of the people here have met Barr before and are content to wait as he makes his way around the room exchanging pleasantries, shaking hands and posing for photographs. The only TV cameraman at the event snags a quickie interview with the presidential candidate, then heads for the door.

Read the rest of this article here.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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BACKS AGAINST THE WALL STREET: The Dow is suffering its worst loss since 2001 following the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the buyout of Merrill Lynch, with AIG possibly next, despite recently borrowing $20 billion from its subsidiaries. The Fed today infused $50 billion into financial markets to stem the freefall.

MCCAIN: Reconfigures his recent statement that “the fundamentals of our economy are strong.”

PALIN: Won’t cooperate with the ongoing ethics probe because she says Obama’s campaign has infiltrated it. Actually, she didn’t say that. Despite the probe being into her conduct as governor, the announcement that Palin won’t be cooperating was made by the McCain campagin.

JUST THE TICKET: Atlanta scofflaws will have two months, starting Oct. 1, to pay old parking tickets and have all late fees waived, a measure approved by City Council in hopes of collecting at least some money they otherwise might never have seen.

GASOLINE: Prices in Georgia are the second-highest in the country, although analysts say they should settle somewhere around $4 soon.

NATURAL GAS: Prices in Georgia may rise 25 percent this winter.

BARR VS. BLOOMBERG: The Libertarian presidential candidate will appear in federal appeals court in Atlanta today to defend his defamation suit against the New York City mayor, which alleges Bloomberg libeled Barr’s client, Adventure Outdoors Sporting Goods, by calling the Smyrna store a rogue gun dealer in his famous 2006 lawsuit.

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Nate Silver, who runs the awesomely nerdtastic political blog FiveThirtyEight.com, joined the chorus of campaign-watchers criticizing the Obama campaign for devoting millions of dollars to trying to win Georgia’s Electoral College votes.

According to Silver, Virginia and North Carolina are more Obama-friendly than Georgia. If he can put either of those states in his column, he wouldn’t need Georgia. (more…)

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Wayne Allyn Root, the Libertarian Party’s vice presidential nominee, would step aside should Ron Paul accept Bob Barr’s offer to become his running mate. A source inside the Barr campaign has confirmed this as well.

From a post on the campaign’s blog:

Atlanta, GA – Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party nominee for president, has invited GOP Congressman Ron Paul to be his running mate in the upcoming election. In a letter sent to Paul, Barr called Paul one of the “few American patriots” who exist in today’s society, and asked him to “seriously consider this final offer as an opportunity to show true, lasting leadership beyond party politics.”

…

Barr’s running mate, Wayne Allyn Root, expressed support: “As the Libertarian Party vice presidential nominee, I believe in one thing above all else—principle. There can be no compromise on the ideals of limited government, lower taxes, lower spending, and more freedom for the American people. Those are the principles to which I’ve dedicated my life. The GOP and Democratic candidates only give lip service—at best—to these ideals and principles. It is only an act at election time every four years.”

“I want to end the charade once and for all,” Root continued. “I am willing to sacrifice anything to advance the cause of liberty, freedom, smaller government and to enable the American taxpayer to keep more of their own money and property. Understanding Dr. Ron Paul’s reputation and name recognition in the freedom movement, I am willing to step aside as Libertarian vice presidential candidate if he would be willing to take my place. I will pledge to work day and night, just as I have as the vice presidential nominee, to support Dr. Paul. I believe this is a wonderful opportunity for the Libertarian and freedom movements. I encourage Dr. Paul to accept Congressman Barr’s offer. The campaign is making this offer because we believe there is no sacrifice too large when it comes to improving the lives of the American people and American taxpayers.”

A presidential ticket with a total of four syllables — success.

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Former contender for the Republican nomination Rep. Ron Paul urged his supporters today to shun McCain and Obama.

Paul wants them to vote instead for Libertarian Bob Barr, the Green Party’s Cynthia McKinney, Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin, or independent Ralph Nader.

Barr, a former Republican congressman from Georgia, returned Paul’s hearty quarter-endorsement with a written plea asking Paul join the Libertarian ticket as his running mate.

I know Libertarians are, by their nature, wary of rules, but didn’t the Libertarian Party already select Wayne Allyn Root as its V.P. nominee?

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The Houston Chronicle reports Republican Congressman and former 2008 Presidential hopeful Ron Paul will offer a hearty 25 percent endorsement to the presidential candidacies of former Georgia congresspersons Cynthia McKinney and Bob Barr at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. tomorrow.

They don’t quite put it in those terms.

The report says Paul will urge his supporters to reject Obama and McCain and instead cast a vote for any one of the four other candidates on the ballot this fall: former Republican-turned-Libertarian Bob Barr, former Democrat-turned-Green Cynthia McKinney, Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin, or independent Ralph Nader.

According to the National Press Club’s events calendar, Paul and Barr each have press conferences scheduled tomorrow.

Perhaps Barr will be there to give Paul 25 percent of a thank you.

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Libertarian candidate for president Bob Barr was a guest on today’s installment of Democracy Now!

I’m not yelling. The exclamation point is in the show’s name.

I haven’t listened yet, but the former Republican Congressman from Georgia apparently talks about why he left the Republican Party, the Iraq War, and the exclusion of Libertarians, Greens, and independents from the upcoming presidential debates.

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How would you like some face time with a real-life presidential nominee whose first name starts with a “B”?

That’s right – this Saturday, for only $100 a ticket, you can attend a cocktails-and-dinner fund-raiser in Dunwoody with Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr. Who’d you think we were talking about?

Enticingly titled “An Evening with Bob Barr,” the event also will feature appearances by fellow Libertarians, Senate candidate Allen Buckley, PSC candidates John Monds and Brandon Givens – and, if you’re lucky, current Johns Creek City Councilwoman Karen Richardson.

Anyway, if you want to go, the Georgia Libertarian Party would love to have you.  Register here.

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The Libertarian Party of Georgia is hosting “An Evening With Bob Barr and Friends” on Saturday, Aug. 23 at the Crowne Plaza Ravinia at 4355 Ashford-Dunwoody Rd.

Cocktails start at 6 p.m., seated dinner at 7 p.m. Barr, the party’s presidential candidate and former CL columnist, and entertainment are scheduled for the night.

A $100-per-plate donation is required. RSVP by Monday, Aug. 18 by calling 404-888-9468 or clicking here. More information is available here.

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Bob Barr’s Libertarian bid for the presidency could put Georgia in play for Barack Obama, the New York Times quoted U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson as saying over the weekend.

“If Barr got 8 percent, and you’ve got the higher African-American turnout from Barack Obama, then you’d have a significantly close race in the state,” the Georgia Republican told the Times in an article published Saturday.

That differs from the line of most local Republicans, who’ve generally pooh-poohed the potential Barr effect. But several polls have shown Obama surprsingly within 10 percent of John McCain in Georgia, and Barr with support as high as 8 percent — presumably drawn from libertarian-leaning conservatives who’d otherwise back McCain.

Barr, a former uber-conservative congressman from the north Atlanta ‘burbs (who gained true fame as a Creative Loafing columnist), was dissed by Bush, Rove and the Republican establishment during redistricting earlier this decade when he was lumped into an unfriendly district dominated by a more lockstep party mate. He doesn’t seem to bothered by the prospect of harming McCain’s chances:

“ ‘Well, gee, you might take votes from Senator McCain,’ ” Mr. Barr said this week, mimicking one of the complainers, as he sat sipping Coca-Cola in his plush corner office, 12 stories above Atlanta. “They all said, ‘Look, we understand why you’re doing this. We agree with why you’re doing it. But please don’t do it.’ ”

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Georgia had Obamamania so bad before Super Tuesday that the O-man put the Peach State in his “win” column weeks ahead of the primary and sent his campaign ops to work in other places.

There’s a big difference in this GOP-friendly state, however, between winning among Democrats and beating a Republican in the November election. But lately folks have been questioning much more seriously whether Georgia could swing for Barack Obama.

Earlier this week, Time magazine ran a story headlined “Can Georgia Be Obama’s Ohio?” which reveals that the Obama camp has selected Georgia and Virgina as potential battleground states and is dedicating workers and resources in an effort to gain ground here:

Obama has 15 full-time paid staffers who have been in Georgia for over a month. They also have had staff in North Carolina and Virginia and have been “literally moving in dozens of people every week to all three states,” said Jon Carson, Obama’s national field director. They also expect to have staff in Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana before the end of the month. “It’s very hard to sit here right now to say what’s going to happen in November… Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Montana, North Dakota, Missouri — which of those is going to be most winnable? So our campaign is taking the approach of casting a wide net.”

It may be working. Yesterday, InsiderAdvantage released a new poll that shows Obama trailing John McCain by a single point – 43 percent to the Republican’s 44 percent – helped mightily by the Libertarian candidacy of hometown boy Bob Barr, with 6 percent.

As InsiderAdvantage CEO Matt Towery explains it:

Georgia is competitive for Obama for several reasons. First, it has a high African-American voting age population (VAP). Second, it has an unusually high percentage of younger voters (18-29). Both of these groups are more in the Obama camp, with black voters already at the 83 percent level and likely to climb.
Equally important, like its neighbor Florida, Georgia has a high percentage of voters who consider themselves independent. Obama is carrying that critical swing vote by about 10 percent in the poll.

If this trend continues it could make things very interesting come fall.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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