ATLANTA — Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr appealed Wednesday for the support of Republican-leaning conservatives by declaring his Republican rival John McCain is going to lose the election.

“Sen. McCain will be spending the last two weeks before the election on his ‘farewell tour’ across America,” Barr wrote in an e-mail message. “Sen. McCain’s mixed and angry message, as well as his support of big-spending policies, have killed any chance McCain may have had to win this election.”

The former Republican congressman from Georgia wrote that conservatives who want their vote to count should throw their support behind his long shot candidacy.

“A vote for John McCain is a wasted vote,” Barr said, but a vote for him would be viewed as a protest of the big-spending policies of McCain and President Bush, particularly their support for the $700 billion bailout of the financial industry.

“Now, principled conservatives can vote their conscience instead of voting for a faux-conservative just because he carries the Republican label,” Barr wrote.

Some Republicans have long worried that Barr could play spoiler in a close election if he draws disaffected conservatives from McCain. The Associated Press