NADER-RADAR

As the World Presidency debates come to a thundering crescendo (ahem) the state of US democracy is in the mind. Here’s a great piece by Nader insider on the ‘Greatest President America never had’ (sic):

"I have not written about Ralph Nader’s campaign for the presidency—until now—for three reasons. First, I worked for Ralph (who has reached first-name stature) 24 years ago. Not even out of college yet, I spent a year as a writer for various publications and books produced by Ralph and his public interest groups. In this position, I gathered the connections and learned what I needed to start a career in independent journalism. Ralph gave me my start, and I am forever grateful for that and, more importantly, for the fine public interest work he has done for decades. It is a cliché—because it is true—that Ralph has achieved more for Americans than most members of Congress. It has saddened me to watch him destroy his legacy (which is shared by the many who have toiled with him) by mounting a fool’s errand of a campaign. Thus, I have avoided this painful topic. There is, after all, much else to write and think about.

Reason No. 2: Nothing I could write would change anything. That is, it would not persuade Ralph to abandon his bid. Earlier in the year, I watched—and kibitzed—as his closest and most loyal friends and colleagues attempted to convince Ralph it would be a huge mistake to launch another presidential campaign. None thought that whatever benefits might be derived from such a campaign would be worth the potential cost: being a factor in a Bush victory. None found Ralph’s logic…well, logical. He insisted that he could help John Kerry by making a strong case against Bush, that he would draw conservative voters from Bush, that he would place important issues neglected by the two main candidates in the spotlight, that he would help break the corporate-funded duopoly that controls power in Washington. But it was fanciful for Ralph to believe that he could cause Bush voters to jump the GOP ship because he provided an alternative other than Kerry. Or that he could coax the media to focus on his issues rather than his role as a possible spoiler. Or that another 3 percent or less finish would do much to improve the prospects of multi-party democracy in America. He hasn’t even been running this year to boost the Green Party."

By David Corn. Corn is the author of The Lies of George W. Bush: Mastering the Politics of Deception (Crown Publishers).

Read the full story here...Common Dreams