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Just when we thought the election picture was clearing up, another horse entered the race.
Ralph Nader, come on down. You’re the next candidate on “So You Wanna Be President.”
Nader, who ran on the Green Party ticket in 2000, announced his candidacy as an independent on Sunday.
Many people like to blame Nader for taking votes away from Al Gore in 2000 and some think he’ll do the same to this year’s Democratic candidate.
“I think it always would probably pull votes away from the Democrats and not the Republicans, so naturally, Republicans would welcome his entry into the race,” Republican Mike Huckabee said Sunday on CNN.
While Republicans seem to be welcoming Nader into the fracas, Democrats are less than enthusiastic to have another rat in the race.
“He thought that there was no difference between Al Gore and George Bush and, eight years later, I think people realize that Ralph did not know what he was talking about,” Sen. Barack Obama said during a town hall meeting Sunday.
Then they all put on their nice faces and remind listeners how much Nader has done for consumer safety in this country.
Which is what presidential politics is all about, isn’t it? Insulting your opponent to the point no one is listening once you say all the nice things about them?
It works. Try it next time you are in heated debate. The people you are talking to will be so riled up by the time you get to the positives, they won’t even care.
Can you think of anything more boring than a “nice” politician? How lame was the first Clinton-Obama debate? We like it when they fight.
With Nader back in the running, some of the recent fight that has resurfaced between the Democratic candidates might get distracted. That is exactly what the Republicans want.
But does Nader have what it takes to be elected president?
Probably not.
The good news is that he won’t blow his entire campaign treasure chest on primaries.
The bad news is that he’s older than McCain, more insistent on government involvement than Clinton, less engaging than Obama and can’t play bass like Huckabee.
Looking at it, the candidate Nader has the most in common with is Ron Paul. It wouldn’t surprise me if many current Paul supporters voted for Nader in 2000.
That thought alone should scare people away from voting for Nader in 2008.
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