Nader mixes up 2008 race with new White House run
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Consumer champion Ralph Nader announced Sunday a fresh tilt at the White House, eight years after earning the acid hatred of Democrats for dividing the anti-Republican camp in a razor-thin vote.
Denying that he was running as a "spoiler" who could hand the presidency to Republican John McCain, Nader accused both the main parties of shutting out the US public and handing the nation over to corporate interests.
"Dissent is the mother of assent, and in that context I have decided to run for president," Nader, who turns 74 on Wednesday, said on the NBC program "Meet the Press."
As Nader railed against the "political bigotry" of Democrats still smarting from their 2000 loss to Bush, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton girded for a March 4 battle that could decide the former first lady's political fate.
Pundits had detected a hint of farewell in Clinton's closing remarks at a debate with Obama Thursday. But the New York senator came out firing Saturday, declaring "shame" on her rival for attacking her healthcare and trade policies.
A spate of reports said Clinton's advisors were eyeing the potential end of her White House campaign after the March 4 clashes in Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont. Her campaign dismissed that as "nonsense."
"I believe that we are going to do well in Ohio and Texas. I'm not even thinking about other alternatives," Clinton's communications chief Howard Wolfson said.
Amid the Democratic infighting, Nader declared: "If the Democrats can't landslide the election this year, they ought to just wrap up, close down."
But Nader, who rose to prominence by campaigning for auto safety in the 1960s, said he still had a message to offer for those "locked out" by the perennial Republican-Democratic duel.
Whether it was the war in Iraq, the Palestinian issue, environmental threats or the power of Wall Street, "you have to ask yourself as a citizen, should we elaborate the issues the two are not talking about?"
McCain was "the candidate for perpetual war," Nader added, calling for the impeachment of the "criminal recidivist regime of George Bush and (Vice President) Dick Cheney."
Standing as a Green party candidate in 2000, Nader took more than 97,000 votes in Florida, outraging Democrats who said he had siphoned off enough support from former vice president Al Gore to hand victory to George W. Bush.
But he won just 0.3 percent of the national vote as an independent in 2004, when he appeared on the presidential ballot in only 34 states.
Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, an Obama supporter, was derisory about Nader's latest intervention.
"I mean, when you get into running for your third or fourth time, I don't think people will pay that much attention to it, and I wouldn't see it having any effect on the race," he said on Fox News.
New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, a Clinton backer, agreed about Nader but said the billionaire mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, could have a "major impact" on the main parties if he runs.
Bloomberg has denied he is planning a White House bid but his protests have done little to silence the media buzz surrounding the former media mogul.
Obama, who is bidding to knock Clinton out of the race on March 4, said anybody had the right to run for president if they qualified.
"And I think the job of the Democratic Party is to be so compelling that a few percentage of the vote going to another candidate is not going to make any difference," he told reporters Saturday.
McCain meanwhile has enjoyed a bounce in support from hardline conservatives after The New York Times last week insinuated an improper relationship between the maverick Republican front-runner and a female lobbyist eight years ago.
McCain received another boost Sunday with reports that Puerto Rico Republicans had awarded their 20 delegates to the Arizona senator, in an overwhelming defeat for former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.
Huckabee, still in the Republican race despite trailing badly to McCain, said Nader's entry would hurt the Democrats.
"So naturally Republicans would welcome his entry into the race and hope that maybe a few more will join in," he told CNN.
Iraq War in 2007.
Political activist Ralph Nader has announced the launch of an independent campaign for President of the United States. Nader, who also ran for president in the previous three elections, made the announcement on NBC's television program ''Meet the Press''.

"Dissent is the mother of ascent, and in that context I have decided to run for president," said Nader.

"In the last few years, big money and the closing down of Washington against citizen groups prevent us from trying to improve our country. And I want everybody to have the right and opportunity to improve their country." 

In 2000, Nader ran for President as a Green Party candidate and received 2.7% of the popular vote. Many Democrats believe his campaign led to the election of Republican George W. Bush by taking away potential votes for Democrat Al Gore, especially in the state of Florida. Nader also ran in 2004 as an independent, but only garnered 0.4% of the vote.

At a press conference yesterday, Democratic candidate Barack Obama doubted that a potential Nader candidacy would have the same impact as in 2000. "I think the job of the Democratic Party is to be so compelling that a few percentage of the vote going to another candidate's not going to make any difference," he said. 

Today, however, Obama was more disapproving of Nader. "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," Obama told reporters.

Democrat Hillary Clinton seemed more concerned about Nader's bid. "Obviously it’s not helpful to whoever our Democratic nominee is," she said. "I remember when he did this before, it didn't turn out too well for anyone, especially our country." She said Nader "prevented Al Gore from being the 'greenest' president we could have had", and she hoped his bid will be "just a passing fancy that people won't take too seriously." 

Nader dismissed criticism of his entry into the race, saying, "For anybody who thinks that the third try is something that should be demeaned, it represents persistence, it represents never giving up the struggle for justice."

Meanwhile, Republican candidate Mike Huckabee welcomed Nader into the race, in the hopes that he will lessen the Democratic voter base. "I think it would always pull votes away from the Democrats, not the Republicans," he said. "So actually, Republicans would welcome his entry into the race and hope that a few more will join in."