Ralph Nader : Another run for the Marathon Man
02 November 2008 à 16h43
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Serial runner Ralph Nader makes another bid to get into the Oval Office. He is trying hard to get some room under the spotlights, between John McCain and Barack Obama.
Guess what, Obama and McCain are not the only ones running for president! In all, there are six wannabe presidents. Serial runner/loser Ralph Nader is one of them. The 74 year-old environmentalist and independent candidate is once more back on track. It's his fifth attempt to reach the White House. In 1996, Ralph Nader ran under the banner of the Green party.
Now he presents himself as an independent and, he says, as a true alternative to the two main candidates. Once more, he wants to shake up American politics, bring up issues that other candidates ignore, and break up the perennial two-party monopoly. The consumer advocate says he was « compelled » to run, in order to establish ballot access to « all kinds of third-party candidates ».
Copyright Reuters
This time, the Democrats certainly don’t want Obama to be « nadered » - a word used when a third party candidate swings an election. « I remember when he ran before. It didn’t turn out well for anybody – especially our country », Hillary Clinton said, when Ralph Nader entered the presidential race last February.
Four years later, the Democrats tried to keep him off their ballots in several states. In 2008, Nader is on the ballot in 45 states. Still, he is seen as a spoiler, and can’t be heard in the debates where there is room for McCain and Obama only. Independent candidates even had to organize their own debate in Washington DC’s Mayflower Hotel.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/7rvuF7p2uwE&rel=0&fs=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/7rvuF7p2uwE&rel=0&fs=1</a>
On October 25th, he claimed a campaign speech record, after giving 17 speeches in Massachusetts in a single day - that’s two more than the current Guinness record. What did this marathon aimed at ? According to one of Nader’s spokesmen, it’s to raise awareness that he is running for president as an independent. « Two thirds of the nation doesn’t realize it ».
Nader might really have to dress up as a panda.
More information on Nader’s offical website : http://www.votenader.org
Guess what, Obama and McCain are not the only ones running for president! In all, there are six wannabe presidents. Serial runner/loser Ralph Nader is one of them. The 74 year-old environmentalist and independent candidate is once more back on track. It's his fifth attempt to reach the White House. In 1996, Ralph Nader ran under the banner of the Green party.
Now he presents himself as an independent and, he says, as a true alternative to the two main candidates. Once more, he wants to shake up American politics, bring up issues that other candidates ignore, and break up the perennial two-party monopoly. The consumer advocate says he was « compelled » to run, in order to establish ballot access to « all kinds of third-party candidates ».
Copyright Reuters
Spoiler
To be quite clear about this : his chances of being elected are virtually nil. In 2004, the "professional citizen" polled only 0.38% of the votes. However, there is a chance that Ralph Nader may influence the election this year, even with a few percent of the voters. Democrats have bad memories of the 2000 election, when Ralph Nader « flipped » the election. In 2000, he attracted 96,837 voters in Florida, where there was a razor-thin gap between George Bush and Al Gore. That was only 2.7% of the votes, but Nader was accused of making Gore lose.This time, the Democrats certainly don’t want Obama to be « nadered » - a word used when a third party candidate swings an election. « I remember when he ran before. It didn’t turn out well for anybody – especially our country », Hillary Clinton said, when Ralph Nader entered the presidential race last February.
Four years later, the Democrats tried to keep him off their ballots in several states. In 2008, Nader is on the ballot in 45 states. Still, he is seen as a spoiler, and can’t be heard in the debates where there is room for McCain and Obama only. Independent candidates even had to organize their own debate in Washington DC’s Mayflower Hotel.
Looking for media coverage
Ralph Nader does his best to get the most media coverage he can. His new bid for president seems to be ignored by the main stream media. To change that, the independent candidate does it best, no matter if he is ridiculous sometimes. You can see him on YouTube with the now famous Obama Girl, or in another video, talking to a parrot… « I’d get more media if I dressed up as a panda, and went in a zoo » Nader said.On October 25th, he claimed a campaign speech record, after giving 17 speeches in Massachusetts in a single day - that’s two more than the current Guinness record. What did this marathon aimed at ? According to one of Nader’s spokesmen, it’s to raise awareness that he is running for president as an independent. « Two thirds of the nation doesn’t realize it ».
Nader might really have to dress up as a panda.
More information on Nader’s offical website : http://www.votenader.org
