Give Him Liberty Or...

June 30, 2008 — -- There was a time, not so long ago, when Bob Barr commanded the attention of millions. From his perch on the House Judiciary Committee, the Georgia congressman launched the impeachment of Bill Clinton and presided over its daily march, grilling witnesses, orchestrating events, and doing everything in his considerable power to bring down a sitting president.

There was time when it looked like Barr might succeed, when it looked like he might change American history.

That time has passed.

Today, standing in line at a Manhattan Starbucks in a wrinkled suit, his eyes puffy, the 59-year-old looks older and weary, just another corporate flunky waiting to wake up. He shuffles to the counter, gives the barista a pleading look. "Five shots of espresso," he says. "In a cup. With milk." Then, turning sheepishly: "I only do this three times a day."

Since losing his reelection in 2002, Barr has lost not only his power but also many of his friends. It doesn't help that after alienating nearly every Democrat with impeachment, he spent the next five years alienating his fellow Republicans —railing against the invasion of Iraq, the PATRIOT Act, and the Bush administration in general. If Barr were still in the Congress, it is safe to say he would be one of the few members willing to launch a second impeachment.

Instead, he's taking the outside track—joining the Libertarian Party and, in May, becoming its nominee for president. With just 2 to 3 percent in the polls—mostly coming from disillusioned conservatives—he spends most of his time on the trail answering questions like "Why are you doing this to John McCain?" Yet Barr is more than a wannabe Nader; he's a man of opinions and ideas—even if they do seem to change quite often. It seems only fair to hear him out, especially since, as a third-party candidate, he doesn't give a rat's ass whom he offends.

You have opposed the Bush administration on a number of issues, including the war, but what is your policy for Iraq going forward?

Bob Barr: To me, it is utterly irresponsible to continue the course that we've embarked upon. If our goal was to get rid of Saddam Hussein, we liberated the people from Saddam Hussein. But now we're five and a half years later, and we're still over there, and it's very costly to us. I don't think the American taxpayers focus on how much the occupation is draining resources.

Four-hundred-plus million dollars every single day. You talk to some Republicans and they say, "The Iraqis love us." Well, maybe so. But who wouldn't? We're propping up their economy, we're protecting their borders, we're providing security. Of course they love us.

Is there any difference between your plan for Iraq and Obama's?

It's hard to say, because I don't know that he's laid out a plan with any great specificity. It's my view that we need an immediate and very significant drawdown of our military and economic presence in Iraq. We are not going to assume responsibility for another country.

Do you think if McCain becomes president, we'll be stuck in the same position for another four years?

Based on the statements he's made, yes. I mean, McCain may think it's fine to spend $400 million a day as far into the future as anyone can see, but that's not his money. This is the problem. These folks in Washington might think it's a great mission we're serving over there, but is this the wisest use of taxpayer money? Is it more important to spend billions of dollars improving Iraq's infrastructure or improving the infrastructure of our own country?

Does it make you question McCain's conservative credentials to see him support such a costly war?

I'm not sure that anybody can legitimately say that McCain is conservative.

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What's a Libertarian?

There are a lot of different ways to define it. In layman's terms, it's simply saying "leave us alone" to the government. We certainly need a government to protect everybody's individual liberty, but it should be kept to an absolute minimum.

So you don't want the government to help people? Just leave them alone to help themselves?

To keep impediments out of the way.

But some of your positions don't fit that description. For example, you're pro-life, even though the party is pro-choice.

It is. But there are, within the party, a number of pro-life Libertarians. It's a big tent. Very similar to the way it was when the Republican Party cared about substance and you would have free-market Republicans, economic Republicans, those for whom foreign policy was their focus, education, religion, and so forth.

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The [Libertarian] party also supports legalization of drugs. And you were an anti-drug coordinator at the Justice Department, as well as holding other drug-war positions.

I've come a long way on the drug war. Having been involved in it, witnessing it, and after a great deal of study, I've come to the conclusion that it simply isn't working and we ought to get the federal government out of it. There are some Libertarians who want to go much further than that, but they're supporting me.