Fresh Loaf

A poll released yesterday adds to the evidence that Bob Barr’s presidential run may indeed have turned Georgia from a Republican stronghold into a swing state.

Insider Advantage/Poll Position shows McCain leading Obama 44-43. The poll has a +/-5 percent margin of error, which means the two candidates are essentially tied.

Libertarian candidate Bob Barr, formerly a Republican Congressman from Georgia, nabs 6 percent in the poll. The previous Insider Advantage/Poll Position survey had McCain leading Obama by 10.

Does this mean Obama is going to snatch Georgia’s 15 electoral college votes out of the Republican column come November? Not necessarily.

However, if Bob Barr continues to poll well in Georgia, McCain is going to have to spend time and money campaigning here — time and money he would prefer to spend in states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia, Nevada and New Mexico. If he can’t put Georgia in his column, McCain’s electoral college map looks grim.

For voters, Georgia’s swing state status means we can expect more public campaign appearances from the candidates than we got in 2004.

It will also mean television commercials — lots of them — touting change we can believe in, leadership we can believe in, hope we can hope for, change we can leadership in, hope we change in, etc.

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Libertarian candidate for president was on “The Colbert Report” last night. Here it is, courtesy of Comedy Central:

The money quote, from Colbert’s introduction of Barr: “Bob Barr has a long, Libertarian voting record. In Congress, he supported such privacy-friendly, small-government initiatives as the Defense of Marriage Act, which made the government small enough to fit in a bedroom.”

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Two years ago, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg filed unprecedented lawsuits against gun stores that he said are responsible for weapons they sold that ended up being used in crimes in his city.

One of the targets of Bloomberg’s federal lawsuit is Smyrna’s Adventure Outdoors, owned by Jay Wallace, and that trial is set to unfold in NYC next Tuesday. CL’s John Sugg wrote a cover story on the issue last July.

Most of the gun shops have settled out of court. But Wallace and two others have challenged Bloomberg. The upcoming trial is already drawing coverage in the New York Times, which played the story as Wallace, the country bumpkin, against the slick big-city mayor.

As for Mr. Wallace, his defense was summed up on Wednesday by his lawyer, Mr. [John] Renzulli, who asked rhetorically, “Is Budweiser liable if someone drives drunk?”

The paper also noted that Wallace doesn’t hold his contempt for Bloomberg against the rest of the city.

He and his wife arrived in Brooklyn this week and have rented an apartment there for the duration of the trial. There have been dinners on the town and thoughts of seeing “Jersey Boys.” While Mr. Wallace clearly has his quarrels with the mayor, they do not seem to have tainted his image of the city at large.

“I’ve only had a little exposure to New Yorkers,” he said as he left court. “But from what I’ve seen so far, I kind of like them.”

Well, my … isn’t he so … Southern!

The cases against Wallace and other gunshop owners raise serious issues that could have widespread implications. Can they be held accountable for what criminals do with their guns?

If Bloomberg wins the suit, the city of New York would be able to oversee transactions at Adventure Outdoors through a court-appointed special master.

Wallace has also filed a libel suit against Bloomberg. His lawyer in that case is none other than Libertarian Presidential candidate Bob Barr.

(Photo of Jay Wallace by Joeff Davis)

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BOB BARR: Ready for a rumble (Photo by Joeff Davis)

Last week I wrote that a Bob Barr presidential run could put Georgia’s Electoral College vote within reach for Sen. Barack Obama in November, turning our red state blue.

Insider Advantage released a poll yesterday quantifying my gut feeling.

Of 652 likely voters from Georgia polled by I.A., Sen. John McCain got 45%, Obama got 35%, and Barr got 8%. 12% were undecided.

Obama’s campaign keeps hinting it plans to campaign hard in states where Bush trounced Kerry in 2004. If the Obama campaign’s polling tells them the same thing Insider Advantage is saying, and Barr’s campaign isn’t damaged by reports about his political action committee’s spending habits, then metro Atlanta might be in for some serious general election presidential campaigning for the first time since I moved here in 1997.

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Last week, former Congressman Bob Barr announced he’s running for President as a Libertarian.

Today, the AJC reports his political action committee raised $4.3 million since 2003 ostensibly to defeat liberal congressmen, but gave just $125,000 to federal campaigns and campaign committees.

Most of the fund’s spending — $3.3 million, or about 78 percent of all gifts from donors — paid for raising more money, including mailing lists, postage and telemarketing.

In other words, the real purpose of Bob Barr’s PAC is to raise money for Bob Barr’s PAC.

It’s not illegal, but it’s the sort of thing that gives potential donors pause. It also contradicts the central premise of Barr’s campaign — that he’s a paragon of fiscal responsibility.

Does Fresh Loaf have any Libertarian readers?

If so, what do you think of Libertarian candidate George Phillies? I haven’t audited his website, but I receive at least one e-mail each week from his campaign and they’re mostly terrific. I’d love to see him at a podium with McCain and Obama come debate season.

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Former Congressman (and CL columnist) Bob Barr announced yesterday he’s running for President as a Libertarian.

Barr’s not going to win, but if the former Republican Congressman ends up on the ballot in Georgia, he could peel away enough voters from McCain to tip Georgia’s 15 Electoral College votes to Obama.

The last time a Democrat won Georgia’s Electoral College votes was 1992. That year, then Gov. Bill Clinton squeaked by then-President George H.W. Bush with 43.6 percent of Georgia’s popular vote, compared to Bush’s 43 percent.

Sharing Georgia’s ballot with Bush and Clinton that year was populist billionaire H. Ross Perot, who nabbed 13.4 percent of Georgia’s popular vote.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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CHINA EARTHQUAKE: Death toll has passed 12,000 from Monday’s 7.9-magnitude quake, with more than 18,000 buried under rubble in just one city.

ATTRACTING RETENTION: Only 12 percent of embattled Clayton County’s teachers are leaving the school system, which is lower than some administrators had feared.

BATTLE OF ‘WITZ: Emory political scientist Alan Abramowitz writes a Washington Post op-ed on Obama, working-class whites and “symbolic racism.”

WEST VIRGINIA: Clinton campaigns, Obama campaigns.

PASSING THE BARR: Bob Barr announces he’s running for president as a Libertarian.

DREAM TEAM: A collection of rookies and role players, the new Atlanta Dream begins its season next weekend, hoping some residual basketball fever remains in the city from the Hawks’ playoff run.

HERE WE ARE NOW: Gov. Perdue signs a bill that will give up to a 30 percent entertainment tax credit to productions of films, TV shows, commercials, music videos and video games in the state.

HAVE YOUR LAKE AND DRINK IT, TOO: Lake Lanier Association doesn’t think all lakes are created equal.

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FEUD FOR THOUGHT: GOP infighting led to major bills such as transportation funding sine dying on the vine Friday. But don’t worry; at least now you can bring your guns on MARTA. Click here to read Thomas’ sine die live blog.

BOB BARR: Forms presidential exploratory committee, indicating he’s seriously considering running against Ralph Nader for general-election spoiler.

WWE AND HGH: Homeowner discovers HGH in his Locust Grove house, which once belonged to a pro wrestler, FOX 5 reports. I’m also amused to see a pro wrestling newsletter covering HGH abuse, which is like a soap opera magazine covering cosmetic surgery.

IMMIGRATION: Gwinnett prisons begin screening inmates for immigration violations, and AccessNorthGa is on the case with an adrenaline-pumping news graphic.

CLAYTON SCHOOLS: Things have been better.

BMW CARAVAN: Two hundred seventy-one bored, rich people drive from Chateau Elan to Atlanta Raceway in Braselton in not only the Guinness world-record longest caravan of BMWs, but cars in general.

CROSS-DRESSING THE LINE? Wisconsin elementary school holds dress-up day for kids to either dress as senior citizens or members of the opposite sex, an idea the kids came up with. Christian talk radio hears about the tiny trannies, though, and goes on an angry mission of talking.

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MLK: Was assassinated 40 years ago today. Leonard Pitts writes of the sanitation workers’ strike that brought King to Memphis; Congress honors his legacy; the King Center opens a special exhibit memorializing his last days; and the Associated Press speculates on what he would have done had he not been murdered.

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL: General Assembly protects HOPE-eligible students in Clayton County in case the school system loses its accreditation. Meanwhile, the Clayton school board considers trying to rehire former superintendent Barbara Pulliam, who resigned in July.

CRAM SESSION: Today’s the last day of the 2008 legislative session, with most major policy items still unresolved.

BARR NONE: Bob Barr’s rumored presidential run gets even more rumored, and he may have the support of candidacy-happy Ron Paul.

ARRINGTON: Fulton Superior Court judge apologizes for expelling whites from courtroom, but offers explanation for his decision as others come to his defense.

WE’LL CALL YOU: Man robs Athens convenience store with a knife, leaves behind filled-out job application.

HAMPTON IN OUT: The most fragile Atlanta Brave hurts his left pec during warm-ups, causing Bobby Cox to scratch him from what would have been his first start since 2005. The Braves lost to the Pirates 4-3 in 10 innings.

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So, Bob Barr — ex-congressman, newspaper columnist, fierce libertarian defender of constitutional rights — visited a Savannah antique store and saw a lovely piece of furniture. It now resides in his office near I-75 and the Perimeter.

On a recent trek to visit Barr, I asked about the ornate wood … well, I wasn’t quite clear what it was. But Barr enlightened me. It’s a Chinese opium bed. I inquired as to what a famed national leader is doing with an opium bed. Barr (who had a cameo role in the Borat movie) deadpanned: “Well, John, where do you relax when you smoke your opium?”

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