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Al Barger and MoreThings - getting people's goats since 1998.
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May 30, 2004
Michael Badnarik selected as Libertarian Party presidential candidate
Michael Badnarik from Austin, Texas was selected as the 2004 presidential candidate of the Libertarian Party on Sunday, May 30.
Badnarik has a background as a computer programmer and technical trainer. He's known among Libertarians as a constitutional scholar. He offers an 8 hour course on the constitution.
In my limited exposure, he comes off as a low-key but quietly intent rumpled college professor. I dig that feel a lot, at least in this guy. A related comparison: Michael Badnarik may be the party's closest approximation to Lieutenant Columbo.
Even within the party, Badnarik was the underdog. He was a distant third in expectations coming into the convention. We had Hollywood producer Aaron Russo and fairly well known radio talk show host Gary Nolan as frontrunners. Both had better nominal professional skills in public speaking, better name recognition and certainly more money. Badnarik did, however, have what was widely regarded as a good performance in the Saturday debates.
It took three ballots to clinch the nomination. This seems conveniently like just about right dramatically- enough to peak interest, then getting to the denouement fairly quickly before it got boring. Nolan bowed out after the second ballot, offering his support to Badnarik. 405 votes for a majority were required for nomination. Badnarik beat Russo decisively on the third ballot, 423 to 344.
It appears that basically Nolan and Russo significantly enough alienated one another's supporters as to knock them both out. Russo was graceless enough to say on stage (and on C-Span) that he was pleased to support Badnarik, and was just glad that it wasn't Nolan. Bad form, Aaron. Feel free to redeem yourself by raising a couple million dollars for Badnarik.
I don't know just how good Badnarik will do. We've never had much luck at this high level. For all his good efforts and professionalism and best intentions, Harry Browne didn't do much good- even with two bites at the apple. Badnarik probably couldn't do much worse, but he's not nearly the smooth politician that some of our candidates have been.
For example, I was in the room during this hospitality suite exchange between Mr. Badnarik and Mike Kole at our Indiana state convention last month. I concur with brother Kole that he was not particularly impressive there as a politician, specifically. [Little known bonus tidbit: Badnarik is clearly a genuine connoisseur of N/A beer.]
On the other hand, that might not work against him so much as a candidate trying to honestly earn votes. He's not at all any form of professional gladhander. Again, think Columbo stylistically.
However, anyone much attracted to professionalism of that sort doesn't seem likely to be a Libertarian voter anyway. We attract more like the kind of thoughtful kids who actually paid attention in history class. Badnarik would be their teacher- not the charismatic leader appealing to their limbic systems or reptilian brain stems.
Badnarik comes across to me both on tv and in the flesh as truly totally genuine and straightforward. Exactly the lack of professional polish works for me.
Another way of saying it is that even with close and skeptical observation, I've not detected any smell of him trying to tell people what he thinks they want to hear. That's the basic thing any sane person automatically suspects any politician of. It's understandable, and perhaps excusable as necessary to some extent. As skeptical as I routinely am of such things though, even I could detect not the faintest whiff of even the most benign manipulation or even simple cheap gladhanding.
Badnarik is very friendly and approachable, totally unassuming. As my Dad would say, he's as common as an old shoe. He tries to explain himself in a nice way, but if you're around him for even a few minutes you'd think it unlikely that it would ever even occur to him to consider approaching people in the manner of a legitimate politician.
So, I agree with Kole that Badnarik's not much of a politician- but I don't care, and don't think it'll hurt us. His transparent realness as a human seems much more important and vital and like the image I'd like to have for the party than any fancy people skills he may lack- even rudimentary ones like working a room.
I just know that I feel real comfortable with having a fellow like this representing us. Even beyond any particular political issues, I'd be happy to have the public think that this is the kind of people that we are.
Also, his acceptance speech was particularly touching. He got a kiss from old Dad, and absolutely gave Mom the mic for perhaps two minutes. She seemed like quite the character herself. Noting that his brothers had always said that she thought Michael could walk on water, she was now in fact bold enough to hope that this might specifically mean the Potomac.
posted by Al at 5/30/2004 11:40:00 PM
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