Presidential race tightens in Georgia

ATLANTA -- One is a blunt-spoken former Georgia congressman who helped lead the drive to impeach President Clinton in 1998 and later became a strong advocate of civil liberties after the 9/11 attacks.

The other is a firebrand former Georgia congresswoman who filed articles of impeachment against President Bush and Vice President Cheney and later became an impassioned voice for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Bob Barr and Cynthia McKinney are two longtime Georgians who are among the best known in a flock of independent candidates running for president this fall as an alternative to Republican candidate John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama.

Barr, 59, the Libertarian Party nominee, is on the ballot in Georgia and 45 other states and is working to get on in three others. He is running a campaign that rails against the financial policies of both Republicans and Democrats and the growth of the federal government. He opposes the proposed $700 billion rescue package for Wall Street and says the financial industry collapse should be investigated for fraud.

McKinney, 53, Georgia's first African American congresswoman and the nominee of the Green Party, is on the ballot in 31 states and the District of Columbia — though not in her home state. She advocates an immediate moratorium on home foreclosures and a full pullout of all military forces from Iraq.

Despite Barr's home-state roots, political analysts here say he is unlikely to have a major impact on the race between McCain and Obama for Georgia's 15 electoral votes.

Poor showings predicted

David Johnson, CEO of the public relations and public affairs agency Strategic Vision, doesn't expect Barr to exceed 3% on Nov. 4. "This race is very close," he says of the national campaign. "Republicans who might have basic difficulties with McCain, former Hillary (Rodham Clinton) supporters who might have basic difficulties with Obama, they're not going to waste a vote on a third-party candidate."

Some Georgians in Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park this week didn't know about any of the third-party candidates. "I wouldn't vote for any of them even if I could, but I'm glad they're on the ballot (in some states)," says Barb White, 52, a home health-care worker.