Recently, Bob Barr was officially declared the Libertarian Presidential candidate for 2008. With his reputation and name recognition, he will be the strongest candidate the Libertarians have put forth in years, maybe ever.

For strict fiscal conservatives like myself, it will be very enticing to vote for him, just like the girl next door.

Remember when you were younger, in the peak of your dating years. We all had at least one steady girlfriend or boyfriend during that time, someone who shared a lot of your interests, someone you were proud to walk into a room with, someone who captivated you and someone whom you saw yourself having a wonderful future with.

As is characteristic of relationships, that person at some point majorly disappointed you or even upset you and made you feel as if they took you for granted. It was at that point in which the relationship was strained, that moment of disenchantment, that you fully discovered the girl or boy next door.

Oh, yes, you were always aware of them, casually sneaking a glance now and then, maybe exchanging a smile or a polite hello, but consciously they barely existed to you. But now, feeling betrayed by your steady, the glance became a stare as you fully realized how attractive they were. You noticed that the smile they gave you seemed more than just a polite gesture. The inflection in their voice and their body language seemed to be calling to you.

In the coming days, you found yourself timing the exits out of your apartment in order to bump into them and garner a conversation. You went down to the pool to enjoy the swimsuit eye candy they provided. They seemed so much more attractive than your steady girlfriend/boyfriend. You began to think about the possible whirlwind romance that the two of you could have, and it was very enticing.

But the problem was that you knew it would most certainly turn out to be merely a romance of convenience. As much as you saw yourself enjoying the immediacy of a possible relationship, you knew there was little chance of a future.

In fact, you knew deep down that the real enjoyment in dating them would be to make your steady girlfriend/boyfriend jealous, invoking them to run back to you, begging you to return into their arms, promising to never take you for granted again and to make sure you were happy for eternity.

The risk in all of this was that you might lose the real love of your life, that rather than eagerly racing to your open arms, they deserted you forever.

Such is the Libertarian Party. The Republican Party has been a total disappointment for the past seven years.

They have deserted their fiscal conservative principles and have let us down time and time again. They have taken their base for granted and have flagrantly flirted with liberal moderates and sometimes, even liberal Democrats. The romance is definitely gone and the relationship seems stale and lifeless.

The Libertarian next door looks awfully enticing to us. The Libertarian seems committed to idealism and principle and we want to vote for them so badly, if for no other reason than to make our steady Republican jealous. We know however that the Libertarians aren’t going anywhere and in the end, we’d be voting just to make the Republican to do just that.

It is a true quandary for true fiscal conservatives. There is no doubt that the Republicans deserve the pounding they are most likely going to receive in the November election. A vote for Bob Barr, however, is a vote of contrarianism, not revolution, because the Libertarian Party isn’t going anywhere politically.

It will feel great voting their way in November, but we might find ourselves deeply regretting it in the years ahead as the Democrats, who will have total control of Washington, will create as many costly entitlements as possible in order to preserve their power for decades.

It also may cause the Republican Party to desert us entirely. It is a dilemma that, just like the opposite sex, will likely keep us up late quite a few nights as we try to figure out what to do.

Brad Rudisail

Peachtree City, Ga.

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