For Immediate Release Friday, September 12, 2008
‘Presidents have become celebrities,” says Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party nominee for president. “That may be one reason they believe they have been elected to transform the world rather than fulfill the responsibilities of their office.”
“Sen. John McCain says that he wants to inspire Americans ‘to serve a cause greater than their self-interest,’ and Sen. Barack Obama says that ‘the basic idea of empathy’ caused him to run for president,” observes Barr. “But if they want to promote selflessness and empathy, they should become ministers or motivational speakers, not politicians.”
‘Obviously, there is much good in being empathetic and selfless, but that is not why we elect a president,’ Barr says. ‘We elect a president to manage the federal government; an institution of limited powers as established by the Constitution. That means protecting our lives and liberties from foreign threats. It also means confronting problems that we can only solve by working together at the national level. These are important, but limited duties,’ Barr explains.
Barr says as president, he would not promise economic prosperity. “Presidents do not control the economy and could not be trusted to do so even if they had that ability. Almost every government intervention in the economy is counterproductive,’ Barr notes.
‘I won’t promise to ‘invest’ in new energy technologies,’ Barr adds. ‘That is the job of the private sector. The government has no money of its own and has an awful record in choosing economic ‘winners’ and ‘losers.’ My job as president would be to keep government from getting in the way.’
‘I would not, as president, ensure that every child has an education, make sure every American has health insurance, or provide job retraining for every worker,” says Barr. “No president can honestly make those guarantees. And none of these are the responsibility of the federal government,’ explains Barr.
‘The president takes an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution,’ Barr says. ‘Fulfilling this promise would be my priority as president. The president’s job is not to run America, or the American economy, or any particular industry. The president’s job is to be the chief executive of the federal government. That job I would perform to the best of my ability.’
Libertarian Party presidential candidate Bob Barr represented the 7th District of Georgia in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003.
The Libertarian Party is America’s third largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting www.LP.org . The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.
