Bob Barr Ramping it up.

[Perky]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Private markets fail, politicians from both parties jump to their rescue, and taxpayers get stuck with the bill. Libertarian candidate Bob Barr couldn't have scripted a better story line to argue that Republicans and Democrats are interchangeable -- with a helpless addiction to spending.

Can Barr capitalize on it during the closing weeks of the presidential campaign?

Polls so far aren't registering a shift to the Libertarian candidate in spite of widespread outrage over the $700 billion rescue package. The former GOP congressman from Georgia is languishing with about the same 1 percent share of support he's had for months.

But Barr is sharpening his attacks on Republican nominee John McCain, hoping that fiscal conservatives frustrated over McCain's support for the bailout will join his anti-government campaign. Barr says traffic on his Web site is spiking, donations are picking up and the campaign is getting angry calls from Republicans who feel betrayed.

''McCain just seems to make it worse and worse,'' Barr said in an interview this week. ''In the debate he gave this muddled answer about increasing government purchases of troubled mortgages. This is a self-described conservative Republican urging the Department of the Treasury to buy people's mortgages.''

''This illustrates just how far the Republican Party in particular has slid,'' Barr said. ''One would expect it from the Democrats, but for Republicans to be championing this massive government intervention down to the level of purchasing individual mortgages is unbelievable.''

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/washington/AP-Barr-Bailout.html

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Barr can try and good luck to him, but I don't think the Libertarians can really

give a good smack-down against deregulation, can they?