It’s such a pity to watch Ralph Nader. TMV grew up in Connecticut and was raised on newspaper and radio reports about this young crusading lawyer who was taking on the corporations.
Then came 2000 when he seemed like a “spoiler.” But it could be argued — and it was by his supporters and Nader himself — that he was a person of conscience who genuinely felt there was little different between George Bush and Al Gore, even on envirornmental polices.
Fast foward that to 2004. People can argue about many things but one factor seems clear: during George Bush’s first term it became abundantly clear that there is indeed a world of difference in the perception and implementation of environmental policies between this administration and previous administrations, including past Republican ones.
Even so, Nader, again saying there was little difference betweeen the parties, ran again, even though many of his longtime supporters pleaded with him not to run. In some states Nader had and accepted open GOP support in his run — support clearly aimed to siphon off Democratic votes. In the end it really didn’t make any difference due to the “quality” of John Kerry’s campaign. Nader’s impact was neglible — another third party candidate who, when the ballots were counted, had shrunk in stature.
And Nader’s image was shot as idealist. He had gone from an idealist who had carved out his own niche in history due to his victories and vigilence as a crusading lawyer (with idealistic “Nader’s Raiders” working with him), to a third party candidate running in 2000, to yet one more pol who seemed embittered and on an ego trip in 2004.
And now we get THIS which takes him down another notch. Or two.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.