Remember how Ralph Nader's votes took the 2000 Presidential election away from Al Gore?

Well, it could happen again, but this time around in favor of the Democrats.

At they Denver's convention, this week-end, the Libertarians have picked former Republican Congressman Bob Barr to be its Presidential candidate.

He will likely get a lot of the votes that went to Ron Paul during the Republican primaries.It will not be a very high percentage of the vote, but it could reach up to 2 or 3 %.

Somewhere, Al Gore rips his shirt open and howls with anguish. Ralph Nader is probably going to run for president. He'll be on "Meet the Press" on Sunday, and all signs point to run.

I'm not worried in the least.

So: Ralph Nader may run for president again.

I'll admit, my first reaction upon seeing this was this: Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!

My second reaction: Feh.

Here's the thing: The people who voted for Nader in 2000 -- and thus gave George W. Bush the presidency -- were by and large voting against the Democrats. They were liberals who came out of the Clinton presidency thinking he'd governed more or less exactly as a Republican would've.

I got stuck on babysitting duty, of sorts, when Bill Clinton came to Lawrence a few years ago. Following an appearance with former Sen. Bob Dole, extolling the virtues of public service, he headed to a local hotel for a fund-raiser for the Kansas Democratic Party.

Rod Dreher picks up on an interesting question, and gives his own answer: