Libertarians mull presidential pick at national convention in Denver

Libertarian National Convention delegates discuss party bylaws Friday in DenverWhile Denver prepares for the Democratic National Convention in August, more than 1,000 delegates will gather at the Denver Sheraton this weekend for the Libertarian National Convention.

In contrast to the upcoming DNC or the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis this September, the 2008 Libertarian National Convention is anything but a coronation.

Delegates will choose between 14 Libertarian presidential candidates - including apparent front-runners former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.), 2008 Democratic presidential candidate and former U.S. Sen. Mike Gravel (D-Alaska), TV personality and sports gambling handicapper Wayne Allyn Root of Nevada, and longtime Libertarian activist Mary Ruwart of Texas.

Barr, who gained national attention in 1998 when he the impeachment of President Clinton in the U.S. House of Representatives, switched to the Libertarian Party from the Republican Party last December.

But Barr is perhaps the most controversial presidential candidate at the Libertarian convention: many delegates feel nominating a known political figure like Barr for president will raise the party's profile nationally, while others consider him nothing more than an opportunistic interloper.

Thursday afternoon, Barr hosted a tea-and-cookies reception with the Marijuana Policy Project, a pro-legalization group. As the Washington Times noted, Barr was a leading anti-drug advocate while in Congress.

Delegates will vote on their party's presidential nominee Sunday.

Many in the 30-member Colorado delegation - like many delegates from other states -- appeared to reserve judgment Friday about who which presidential candidate they would back. Under LP rules, state delegations cannot vote as a block.

The Libertarian convention hall reflected the party's anti-establishment leanings.

As Gravel buttonholed delegates in front of his convention booth Friday, the (as yet unstaffed) booth immediately to his right was held by Shotgun Willie's, a Denver strip club co-sponsoring the convention.

Former U.S. Sen. Mike Gravel talks with a potential supporter in front of his convention booth on Friday

 At left: Gravel's presdential campaign booth. At right: the booth for Shotgun Willie's, a Denver strip clubPresidential candidate Wayne Allyn Root tries to win over a convention delegate from Ohio. Root's daughter Dakota looks on.

LibARRRtarian: Giving his full name as Starchild, the Johnny Depp-esque delegate from California was asked Friday afternoon by the convention moderator, "Tell me, what does 'Shiver me timbers' mean?"