"Yellow Sheet"
April 24, 2008

Barry Hess, the Glendale resident who sought the Libertarian presidential nomination in 2000, told our reporter today he thinks McCain is "nuts."

In assessing the presidential race with Yellow Sheet this morning, Hess, who also has run for governor several times, said Clinton, Obama and McCain are all members of the "Republican-Democrat Party" and while they are zeroes as far as future presidents, he least prefers McCain.

"Obama can say nothing better than anyone I've met," Hess said, adding, Hillary is "delusional." "[Think about] waking up [that] groggy old lady at 3 o'clock in the morning for an emergency," he said.

McCain, Hess said, lied to his face in the 2004 campaign for Senate when the senator denied he prevented Libertarian opponent Ernest Hancock from taking part in a public debate in Tucson.

Calling McCain a "maniac," Hess said, "He's certifiably nuts, as far as I'm concerned."

Libertarians will nominate a presidential candidate at the end of May from a group of about a dozen candidates. "I know I am going to be drafted," Hess said, but he supports Texas Republican Sen. Ron Paul for president. (Paul, who has not withdrawn from the presidential race, is a former Libertarian candidate for president.)

Hess said he does not agree with Green Party positions, but thinks its qualification for the ballot in Arizona is a good thing. "I certainly like the competition of ideas," he said.

The Libertarian Party is "getting the screamin' Greens and neo-cons" as new members, including former Cong. Bob Barr and Sen. Mike Gravel.