John Deeth Blog

Nader's run for redemption

Interesting analysis of Why Ralph Runs:

"You want to see Bush beaten, but most of all, you want to erase 2000 -- that is, to prove your enemies wrong. What do you do?

You could urge your supporters to vote for the Democrat. But then all the stories would read: 'Ralph Nader, who in 2000 said there was no meaningful difference between the major party nominees, as much as admitted he was wrong yesterday...'

In the end, with Democrats united and the nation polarized, your candidacy won't attract much support. You'll do worse than Pat Buchanan did in 2000 as the Reform Party champion. And that's exactly what you want. If the Democrats win, you'll be able to say: See, any halfway decent candidate could have beaten Bush. That just shows I wasn't what cost the Democrats the 2000 election. The problem was that Al Gore's campaign defined pathetic.

But if Bush wins, with your vote totals tiny, it should be clear to everyone that you played no role, that even a united Democratic Party couldn't win."