Rep. Ron Paul had the job 20 years ago.

Now, it's former Rep. Bob Barr's turn. He's been chosen the 2008 presidential nominee for the Libertarian Party after numerous rounds of balloting that not many people care about.

The Libertarians, convening in Denver, named him Sunday.

"I'm sure we will emerge here with the strongest ticket in the history of the Libertarian Party," Barr said in his victory speech.

Which may not be saying much, because as determined as many of its followers are, there simply aren't enough of them to elect their ticket to anything.

The Libertarians have been good for only around 3% of the vote in recent elections. However, 3% in a close election between the Republican and Democratic tickets could make the difference.

Much as Ralph Nader drew enough votes from Al Gore in 2000 to help George W. Bush win the White House, the little-known Barr could draw enough votes of dissatisfied conservatives to hurt Sen. John McCain's chances as the GOP nominee.

"I want everybody to remember," Barr told conventioneers, "that we only have 163 days to win this election. We cannot waste one single day." Mark Silva has the full story here.

-- Andrew Malcolm