In Tied PA, Barr Will Be on Ballot

Yes, Sarah Palin has the base whipped up like a homemade meringue (Uh oh, cooking-related metaphors. Don’t come after me, Carly Fiorina!), but what does she have to offer the eccentric, irate third-party voter who is despearate to vote his conscience, but made it to the polls only to find that Ron Paul isn’t running and just decided to check the Bob Barr box instead? That may very well be the question in Pennsylvania, where a judge has ruled that Barr will be on the ballot, and Barr has vowed that he will be taken seriously:

The challenge to Barr, a former Republican congressman from Georgia who some GOP strategists fear might siphon votes from McCain, was filed by Harrisburg lawyer Victor Stabile, who also is chairman of the Cumberland County Republican Party. Commonwealth Court Judge Johnny Butler rejected arguments that the party tricked voters by gathering signatures under another candidate’s name and substituting Barr’s name in August, three months after he was nominated at its national convention. The Libertarians’ intent “was to comply with the (state) election code, not to mislead Pennsylvania’s voters,” Butler wrote.

The Rasmussen battleground poll for Pennsylvania, released last night, shows McCain and Obama tied at 47 percent, with 83 percent of supporters for both candidates saying they won’t change their minds. McCain maintains decent leads on trust (51-42), favorables (60-52), and readiness to be president (63-44). On the question of who would be ready to step into the Oval Office if necessary, Biden leads Palin by four percent. Not bad since she’s up against the venerable “third senator from Pennsylvania.” Maybe to know Joe Biden is not necessarily to trust his experience. Obama was up in this poll two points last week.

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