US presidential race: Libertarian hopeful strips in party convention

Washington: While the media focuses almost entirely on the Democratic and Republican campaigns for capturing the US White House in November, other political parties like the Libertarians, the Greens and the Constitutional Party are largely ignored.

But perhaps the best way to attract media attention as a political party member would be to strip down to a thong and dance in front of delegates to your party’s convention?

According to media reports, a candidate for the Libertarian Party’s chairman position stripped off his clothes and danced on stage at the party’s national convention in Orlando on Sunday, instead of simply making a speech.

James Weeks took stage and stripped down to a thong, saying "I thought we could use a little bit of fun". He was cheered by many in the audience as he began to take off his clothes, but the cheers turned to booing as he stripped down to the bare minimum. Weeks then announced that he was suspending his campaign for chairmanship. “Sorry, it was a dare. I’m gonna go ahead and drop out,” he said.

To make it worse, event was telecast live on C-Span.

Reacting to this shocking performance, a convention manager called him an “ass” and “idiot.”

Weeks was a late entry to the race for chairman and his name was not listed on the party’s initial materials.

The incident happened on the same day that the party nominated New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson as its presidential candidate for the second time in a row.