Perhaps John McCain and I, for once, share the same nightmare: Bob Barr at the head of the Libertarian ticket. It was fairly evident by the third of six ballots that the far more conservative branch of the party (split between Barr and Wayne Allyn Root) had the votes to prevail. After two ballots with the lead tied between Barr and Mary Ruwart, the fifth ballot gave Ruwart an ephemeral three-vote lead, while eliminating Root from contention. Root then strode to the microphone and threw his support to Barr in exchange for the vice-presidential nomination. That was pretty much all she wrote. Ruwart could not even make herself say she'd support Barr in her concession speech. Instead, she later nominated Steve Kubby for VP in order to balance the ticket. The strategy might have worked, except that at least a couple dozen delegates had left the floor in disgust, and their votes would have made the difference. So now the Libertarian Party, in its new incarnation as the plaything for...