Bill Lambrecht: Good morning from DC. I'm a little late getting started because I'm ducking missiles flying between the Obama and McCain campaigns. They seize on every word and every event to go after one another. I'm wondering what will be said about McCain's 96-year-old mother, Roberta, getting a speeding ticket in suburban DC the other day. Sounds like a positive for the GOP to me! Let's get to some questions ...

Joe: Mr. Lambrecht,

What affects do you expect a Bob Barr/Libertarian and/or Ralph Nader/Independent presidential campaign have on the electoral college in November? I've never believed Gore lost to GWB because of Nader (if you can't carry your own state -- like Gore didn't carry Tenn. -- you don't deserve the presidency), but could Barr take enough votes enough away from Sen. McCain to comfortably win this in Nov. with no problems?

As always, thanks for this forum...

Bill Lambrecht: I think Bob Barr is underestimated. He's a smart and articulate former prosecutor and fearless in a lot of ways. I read where he's on the ballot in 30 states and he told FOX News the other day that he's aiming for 50. The government-off-our-backs Libertarian mindset has been growing, and we saw a lot of folks supporting Ron Paul. Barr also could benefit from California's gay marriage initiative given that he was a leader in Congress in opposing same-sex marriages before leaving the GOP. He also has some inconsistences: He was a big supporter of the war on drugs and libertarians don't want the government taking away their bongs. I think a key for Barr is Ron Paul's enthusiastic support. Don't think he has it yet. It's easy to dismiss a candidate like Barr, but elections are won and lost at the margins and thousands of votes from disaffected Republicans could make a difference in some states.
As for Nader: First off, your point is well taken about Gore's inability to carry his own state. But Nader got 97,000 votes in Florida -- which Gore lost by 1,000 or so. I'm thinking that Nader matters less this time around than Barr. Check DC Download today and you'll see his weird comments this week about Obama's tendency to "talk white." Watch to see how many ballots Nader gets on. I think Obama stands to draw a lot of those Nader-Raider type votes this cycle.