Barr holds strong -- if Palin doesn't steal his thunder

Libertarian Presidential candidate Bob Barr is holding on to strong poll numbers in ten battleground states, according to a recent Zogby poll.

His best state remains New Hampshire, where he's at 11%, but he's showing strong support in enough states to potentially make a big difference in November's general election. He's pulling 10% in Nevada and 8% in both Colorado and Ohio.

The big question is whether that support -- or any significant share of it -- will remain firm as the campaign turns serious and voters are bombarded with messages to not "waste" their vote by choosing a candidate they actually support rather than one or the other of the Coke and Pepsi of politics. (Isn't there room for an RC Cola?)

Complicating the race is the -- probably calculated -- sudden weird vibe to the effect that Sarah Palin is a sort-of libertarian.

Don't get me wrong -- I think Palin was a smart pick for McCain. She's an unexpected break from the smarmy, rich, old, white-guy brand the GOP has been peddling. She's actually owned businesses that have to navigate the tax and regulatory policies passed down by the likes of McCain, Obama and Biden. She seems like a real person with interests in common with people who spend their lives outside the Beltway -- especially when compared to ... well ... McCain, Obama, and Biden. She also has more executive experience actually managing things than the the other three major-party contenders combined.

But that doesn't make her a principled believer in personal freedom in all matters, strictly limited government as, at best, a necessary evil, and the rights of the individual as the primary concern of any political system.

Although I think Alaska politicians probably start off closer to that point than their counterparts in most places.

But I can't help but thinking that marketing Sarah Palin as something like a younger, prettier, Ron Paul may just have something to do with polls like the one released by Zogby.