Nowadays, Bob Barr is my favorite politician. Let me explain why. 
 
According to Time magazine, Obama made the following statement regarding how competitive he believes he might be in normally Republican-leaning states: 
 
          "...Mississippi is 40% African American, but it votes 25% African
          American. If we just got the African Americans in Mississippi to vote   
          their percentage, Mississippi is suddenly a Democratic state." 
 
This is a strategy that looks to mine the untapped Black vote in Mississippi while not at all dismissing other voters. It is just a very true observation that a group that usually votes Democratic is not voting to its full potential at an unusual lagging rate compared to other groups. Obama, will of course, both need and court other groups' (Whites, Latinos etc.) votes.

However, he also wants to re-energize that black portion of the electorate that feel disillusioned by the political process and therefore are not engaged. 
 
Georgia state has roughly 600,000 unregistered potential Black voters. But the reality is that Obama cannot win a state like Georgia with only the vote of Democratic Blacks, even as he receives his usual percentage of Whites and Latinos he garnered during the primaries. 
 
Enter Bob Barr. 
 
Bob Barr is the libertarian candidate this year who has a relationship with the Republican Party that mirrors the one that Ralph Nader has with the Democratic Party. Of course, Barr won't win enough votes necessary to win the presidency.  However, Barr can peel valuable votes from McCain that could turn Georgia into a raging Democratic state come the general election. Here's why: 
 
Bob Barr has a record littered with his support of issues that could carry immense appeal with the disillusioned conservative values base of the Republican Party. Barr supported gun rights at every turn and was opposed to lax drug laws. He even led the calls for the impeachment of the Republicans' favorite villain, President Bill Clinton, during the Lewinsky scandal. So, Barr has a lot of magnets to attract the Republican voter away from John McCain in November. 
 
Furthermore, there was an interesting time in Barr's record where he fought against military bases providing people of Wicca faith accommodations on par with those of their fellow peers who were of Christian faith. That percentage who is of the Christian faith that is also intolerant might appreciate his stance - even though in reality most Christians are not intolerant and a majority of them don't care about such an issue.
 
Also, Barr has made further interesting moves like in 1998 when he spoke at a meeting of the Council of Conservative Citizens, a white supremacist organization. Barr was, too, a former president of the Southeastern Legal Foundation-- a foundation with a record of pursuing litigation against legislation concerning rights for minorities and gays. And after receiving an endorsement this year from the disgusting white supremacist group Stormfront, Barr issued the following statement:

           "The Barr campaign is not going to be a vehicle for every fringe and
           hate group to promote itself. We do not want and will not accept the
           support of haters. Anyone  with love in their heart for our country and
           for every resident of our country regardless of race, religion, nationality
           or sexual orientation is welcome with open arms.  

           Tell the haters I said don't let the door hit you on the backside on your
           way out!" 
 
It's a nice statement, to be sure. And it is further than Ron Paul was willing to go when he received not just an endorsement but donated money from Stormfront. No matter his rationale, Paul's acceptance of the money combined with past newsletters that carried his name alongside racist ideas is problematic. So, I guess it was decent of Barr to issue a statement against such support, even though it does little to reconcile some of his past activities. 
 
So, shhhhh... Barr, however, may still garner the bigot vote although he spoke out against it. Even though it is common knowledge that voters with intolerant views tend to lean Republican, it has become apparent lately it is not okay to point that out. And it is even more unpopular to point out that those bigots, dissatisfied with the direction of the Republican Party over the last 8 years, might vote Barr instead of McCain out of spite. 
 
Those types of folks will do anything to avoid voting for the black guy.  Even if it means that by voting Barr, they increase the chances of the black guy getting into office. All Barr needs to do is cut into McCain's hold in Georgia among Republicans by about 4%, as reported by Huffingtonpost.com, and Barr stands the chance of handing the election over to Obama. 
 
This is not to say that all Republican voters are monolithic - probably a majority of folks that vote Republican are not bigoted. However, the reality is that there are those who are bigoted that vote Republican, no matter how small their number. And to be fair, the Democratic Party discovered that it had ugly nests of bigoted folks among its voting ranks, as well. But it is certain those folks will jet from the Democratic Party, pronto.

Good riddance.
 
But in the eyes of those bigots who vote Republican, now their stark choice is between white guy McCain and black guy Obama. And if those folks aren't happy with the Republican Party, in general, then they may go to the only other white guy, Bob Barr. 
 
Reality is harsh, but in the case of Obama's chances to get into the White House, reality is divine. 
 
With his huge appeal, Obama widens the electorate net for the Democratic Party-- which will more than make up for any few people in the Democratic ranks who can't imagine voting for him for whatever reasons. And with the help of Bob Barr, Obama might end up humming "Georgia on My Mind" on Inauguration Day as he gets sworn in as the next President of the United States of America.