Now that his second favorite candidate, John Edwards, has dropped out, Ralph Nader is feeling an irresistible urge to pick up the fallen standard and hurl himself once again into the breach.
Ironically, Nader's inner struggle is reported by Bloomberg.com, part of the business news empire that made New York's mayor a billionaire who is, albeit silently, having the same crisis of conscience about saving the nation with an Independent run.
Inverting their physical attributes, Nader and Bloomberg would be playing David and Goliath in a sideshow of the '08 electoral circus to prove that (a) corporate America is crushing its people or (b) only a corporate genius can straighten out the mess Bush is leaving behind.
"Look at the major areas of injustice, deprivation and solutions that are not being addressed by the major candidates," Nader tells a Bloomberg reporter while denying that his 97,488 votes in Florida elected George W. Bush who won the state by just 537 votes over Al Gore in 2000.
Calling him a spoiler, Nader says, "is basically saying that small candidates are second-class citizens."
If Nader takes his pathological hatred of the Clintons into the arena this time, he won't be traveling in even that much style if Bloomberg comes in, too. Billionaires always go first-class and don't leave much space for anyone else.
Romney is paying his own way. Bloomberg can pay his too. Anybody can run for president if their bank account is big enough.
ReplyDeleteIf Ralph gets in this time he will be taking the libertarian vote from McCain. Since the Compassionate Conservatives will be sitting this election out, McCain may only get one vote each from Arnold and Rudy.
Mike Huckabee? What is a Mike Huckabee?