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Correction to This Article
A previous version of this article incorrectly said that former congressman Bob
Barr lost a Senate primary in Georgia in 2002. It was a House primary.


A SPOILER, BY WAY OF THE DAIRY CASE



Bob Barr, nobody's whipping boy. (By Win Mcnamee -- Getty Images)
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By Dana Milbank
Tuesday, May 13, 2008



In his career in public service, Bob Barr has performed many important roles.

As a Republican candidate for the House in 1994, he rose to national attention
when reports alleged that he had licked whipped cream off the breasts of two
women at a charity event.

As a congressman from Georgia, the thrice-married Barr returned attention to the
whipped-cream episode when, speaking in support of the Defense of Marriage Act,
he argued that "the flames of self-centered morality are licking at the very
foundations of our society."

As one of the managers of Bill Clinton's impeachment, Barr gained enough
prominence to attempt a run for the Senate in 2002. But that effort fell apart
at about the time Barr accidentally fired a .38-caliber pistol through a glass
door at a fundraising reception.

As an elder statesmen, Barr returned to the public eye when, appearing in the
film "Borat," he made a pinched expression after being told that the cheese he
had just sampled came from a woman's breast milk.



Now beyond whipped cream and cheese, Barr is taking on his next role: John
McCain's spoiler.

He made his debut in the role yesterday at the National Press Club, where he
announced that he would run for president on the Libertarian Party ticket. And
he made no secret about his disdain for the presumptive Republican nominee, who
would probably suffer most from Barr's entry in the race.

"What's your problem with McCain?" one of the reporters asked after Barr's
announcement speech.

Barr turned to his campaign manager, former Ross Perot adviser Russ Verney. "How
long do we have here, Russ?"

Time enough, evidently.

Barr took issue with McCain's Iran policy. "I'm not going to go around making up
songs about such a serious matter as going to war with a sovereign nation, as
Senator McCain did," the former congressman said, tut-tutting McCain's "Barbara
Ann/Bomb Iran" episode.

He quarreled with McCain's Iraq policy. "These troops need to be brought home,"
he offered.


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