Zogby Poll: Majority Want Libertarian Bob Barr Included in Presidential Debates
Majority of Independents - 59% - also favor inclusion of Ralph Nader in debates this fall
UTICA, New York - More than half of likely voters nationwide - 55% - want Republican-turned-Libertarian Bob Barr to participate in presidential debates this fall, while nearly half - 46% - said they think Ralph Nader should be allowed into the on-stage fray, the latest Zogby Interactive polling shows.
http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1538
Of course, the "rules" won't allow this.
Neither Barr nor Nader are currently qualified to participate, according to rules set out by the Commission on Presidential Debates, a private non-profit corporation that has organized debates in the last several presidential election cycles. The CPD requires that to be included in their debates, candidates must appear on enough state ballots to have a mathematical chance of winning a majority of Electoral College votes, and must be winning at least 15% support in national public opinion polls before the debates.
In this latest Zogby Interactive poll, Bob Barr won 6% support and Nader 2% nationally. Neither candidate has cracked the double-digit barrier in any national polling so far this cycle. This polling showed Obama with a 43% to 40% lead over McCain.
Of course, Perot only had 6-8% national when he was included. They've since raised the number to further limit the chances of anyone bringing up real issues again.