POSTED BY CORNELIUS SWART 

The first round of voting is in. The tally brings Bob Barr just one vote shy of Mary Ruwart and pushes Christine Smith and Mike Jingozian out of the race.

 Jingozian spoke before the delegates and announced that he wanted to run as VP on the Gravel ticket.

"The combination of his national name recognition and our marketing ...we can make history," stated Jingozian.

Gravel, however, finished a distant fourth in the first round of voting.

I spoke with one delegate, Michele Poague from Colorado, who was rushing to vote for Gravel simply because he liked Jingozian as VP.

"He has access to the media. He's a small businessman. Most of us here own our own businesses. I know he's an honorable man."

However, moments later the delegates showed how divided they were. When Christine Smith gave her concession speech, the crowd erupted in boos and cheers.

"I do not think that the results that put Bob Barr on the top of the ballot reflect Libertarians across the country," she said in an impassioned attack. "You say you are against the welfare state and the warfare state. Bob Barr is not a Libertarian. We can't trust him!"

The delegates swelled into a din of equal party cheers and boos.  A divided party will now have to figure out how it will shape itself not just this year but for years to come: the left wing or the right, the grassroots or the power players.  It seems as though this year the party has truly grown up.  Its time to tackle the kind of internal politics that the big boys deal with when the stakes are high.

The Results of the first round of voting:

Bob Barr               153
Mary Ruwart         152
Wayne Root         123
Mike Gravel            71
George Phillies      71
Steve Kubby           41
Mike Jingozian       23
Christine Smith       6