The media has been full of the phrases “The Decider,” “The Decision Maker” — now brace yourself because “The Spoiler” may be back again.
Ralph Nader — the man who argued that that there was no real difference between the two main political parties in 2000 and 2004 — is hinting he could run again:
Former presidential candidate Ralph Nader on Sunday left the door open for another possible White House bid in 2008 and criticized Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton as “a panderer and a flatterer.”
“Panderers” and “flatterers”? Is he talking about politicians, or bloggers? MORE:
Asked on CNN’s Late Edition news program if he would run in 2008, the lawyer and consumer activist said, “It’s really too early to say. … I’ll consider it later in the year.”
Nader, 72, said he did not plan to vote for Clinton, a Democratic senator from New York and former first lady.
“I don’t think she has the fortitude. Actually she’s really a panderer and a flatterer. As she goes around the country, you’ll see more of that,” Nader said.
On whether he would be encouraged to run if Clinton gets the Democratic nomination, Nader said, “It would make it more important that that be the case.”
He added that Clinton may face a challenge in her own state from wealthy Republican New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
“I think her main problem may well be right in New York City, Michael Bloomberg. They’re talking in the Bloomberg camp of a possible run. I’m saying he’ll give more diversity, for sure, and he’ll focus on urban problems. But I might say, he’s got the money to do it,” Nader said.
Nader also said his preferred Democrats are former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich.
“These people have records, not just rhetoric,” he said.
The question now becomes: is Nader serious about yet ANOTHER run? He has been discounted before and each time he has run.
But you have to ask questions such as:
–Are there many Republicans, Democrats and independents left in the United States who feel there is really no difference between the two main political parties and that it made no difference who won in 2000? Many conservatives and Republicans in general are pleased with the Bush administration’s Supreme Court picks. Would the same result have occured if Al Gore had won?
–Could truly independent voters who want an alternative to the two main political parties go along with Nader again, when in 2004 it had emerged that some of his key contributions came from Republicans who were hoping he would siphon votes away from John Kerry after the narrow Gore loss in 2000? (In the end, Nader didn’t help defeat Kerry, Kerry helped defeat Kerry — and THAT is not a botched joke).
–Does it pay for the Democratic Party’s nominee whomever he or she may be (and it is unlikely to be Dennis Kucinich) to try and placate Nader?
–If Nader runs again, will he face a more hostile press? He had been a young crusading lawyer in the 60s, and had an aura of idealism when he ran in 2000. By 2004 some analysts saw him as willingly-accepting the support of some Republicans to use him to siphon off Democratic votes. Does this mean he’d get LESS coverage and/or more aggressive questioning?
–There are still people who yearn for a viable third party option. One serious, thoughtful and bipartisan group of people is working on Unity08. How would they view Nader entering into the fray when they’re trying to put a new — and more respectable — face on the idea of a third party that would run on its affirmative ideas and intrinsic value, versus one that’s running more to seemingly damage one candidate or political party?
FOOTNOTE: This writer is from Connecticut and it’s startling to see how Nader, who had been an icon for years, has become so tarnished in terms of image. If he runs, he’s in danger of being like GOPer Harold Stassen who ran for the GOP nomination for President 9 times…way after his moment in history as serious candidates had passed him by. Stassen became known as “a perennial candidate.”
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.