The Rising Star of 2008: Wayne Root

http://lastfreevoice.wordpress.com/2008/11/27/a-message-from-wayne-allyn-root

Michael Seebeck, ENM said she "can’t think of even one positive thing to say about the guy".  In response I said Root's speeches were better than his opponents', gave an example of one, and invited Root critics to show us a better one from his opponents.  All we've gotten since then are feeble excuses for fleeing from my challenge, and impotent vouching that Root is not a good speaker -- oh, and Seebeck's self-refuting daily insistence that he doesn't pay attention to me. LOL.

I'm still waiting for a quote of an unfulfilled pre-nomination "promise" by Root or Barr.   Don't got one?  Didn't think so.

Root was written off as DOA by Kubby spokesman Tom Knapp, but he rolled over Kubby in both San Diego and in Denver.  Before Barr's entry, Ruwart was the only hope of radicals and Angrytarians to deny Root the nomination.  It was extremely impressive that newcomer Root scored 27% on his final ballot compared to Barr's 36%, given that Barr was a famous former congressman who had been in the LP longer, had been an LNC member, and had received far more media attention for his nomination bid.  Root won the VP race with almost the same 51% share with which Barr beat Ruwart, and in Barr's absence Root may very well have been the choice of those same Barr voters.  (I bet you can't name a single last-ballot Barr voter who says he would have voted for Ruwart over Root.) NatCon delegates are notorious for ignoring ticket-top guidance on what VP to pick,, and Root probably won the VP spot in spite of Barr's endorsement, rather than because of it.  (Barr's endorsement certainly solidified my vote for Kubby as an attempt to balance the ticket.)  

If in May 2007 you had asked LP insiders to handicap a race among Barr Ruwart Kubby Gravel and Root, none of them would have predicted Root to do nearly as well as he did -- especially without spending basically any of his alleged millions. The haters can keep underestimating Root at their own risk, as it only will give him crucial momentum when he again starts blowing past what they claim are their low expectations for him.

Update: Mike Theodore finally attempts to address my challenge. Kubby is indeed the best of our 2008 field on the radio, but at a podium or in front of a camera he's like a different person e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPMZ6VaBYB0 .  Yikes!  Gravel is indeed the best of our 2008 field if you equate libertarianism with angry anti-establishmentarianism.  Me, I find Gravel's hyperbolic rage to be much more embarrassing than Root's studied enthusiasm. I guess it all comes down to whether the emotional core of one's libertarianism is fundamentally negative or positive.