Will Bob Barr be a GOP presidential spoiler?

He could be, but part of me says this GOP nightmare won’t play out that way.

My reason why? Look at the picture.

He has a moustache and glasses.

William Howard Taft was the last president with facial hair. Tom Dewey was the last serious candidate with facial hair, and Jimmy “the Greek” Snyder made his mythical rise to fame by learning that women opposed Dewey’s moustache by as much as 20-1, and betting accordingly on the election in Vegas or wherever.

That said, the GOP runs stronger with men, of course, so the moustache worry may not be as big a deal now as in 1948. Also, more people have moustaches now.

Point No. 2. Barr wears glasses. Harry Truman was the last president who regularly wore glasses, not counting later presidents sometimes trotting out reading glasses.

There’s another issue. Although Barr won’t actually finish ahead of McCain and cost him electoral votes, the way he hurts Schmuck Talk Express™ is by siphoning GOP votes.

But, doesn’t the Libertarian Party risk its credibility with Barr, who other than Patriot Act opposition is no libertarian? Read the full story for a long laundry list of anti-libertarian stances he took as a Congressman.

Knowing the fractiousness of both libertarians in general and the Libertarian Party in particular, I’m surprised a libertarian splinter group hasn’t yet nominated its own candidate.

Indeed, the story notes that many Ron Paul-heads are still skeptical of Barr.