Libertarian candidate Barr attacks 'comfort zone' - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

From people & vips

Libertarian candidate Barr attacks 'comfort zone' - Pittsburgh Tribune-ReviewLibertarian candidate Barr attacks 'comfort zone'"

By Tony LaRussa, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, October 11, 2008

Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr of Georgia touched on economics, energy policy and national defense during an hourlong speech Friday evening on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University.

Barr portrayed himself as a political outsider who does not meet the qualifications that the media and political pundits are using to judge the Democratic and Republican candidates for president and vice president.

"You might notice that I'm not wearing a flag lapel pin," Barr said, referring to public criticisms leveled in the primary against Democrat Barack Obama, who began wearing one after the issue was raised.

"And I only have one house -- but more importantly, I don't care how many houses these candidates have," a reference to criticisms against Republican John McCain, who hesitated when asked how many homes he and his wife, Cindy, own.

McCain, who has seven homes, later said he was unsure how to answer because he did not know if he should include the homes the couple have provided for their children.

Barr criticized the debate process, which does not include third-party candidates and permits the candidates to set the rules. The problem, Barr said, is that it allows the candidates to "stay in their comfort zone," a term he repeated at least a half-dozen times during his presentation.

"To us, a debate is a real exchange of ideas," he said. "By definition, it is pulling somebody outside their comfort zone."

Barr, who represented the 7th District of Georgia in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003, spent most of his time providing a professorial outline of major issues, including:

• The economic crisis: He strongly opposes government bailouts of financial institutions.

• Energy policy: He supports domestic oil drilling as a bridge to the development of alternative energy sources.

• The Iraq war: He would seek advice from military leaders to develop a strategy for troop reduction.

Another good review of the talk.

The P-G posted an article, scroll below, on the web site. However, that article did not appear in the print edition.

And, because I have a lot of photos, here is another.

From people & vips