Nader leaves door open to run for White House in 2008
Nader leaves door open to run for White House in 2008[05 Feb 2007] WASHINGTON (AFP)
Consumer champion Ralph Nader, whose candidacy in 2000 may have cost Democratic nominee Al Gore the US presidency, said he was open to a possible run for the White House in 2008.
Nader, a veteran of three attempts at the White House under the Green Party and independent banners, told CNN television he had not decided yet but that he is committed to offering voters more choices than the two mainstream parties, the Democrats and Republicans.
"It's really too early to say. I don't like long campaigns," said Nader, who will turn 73 this month, after being asked about the election to replace President George W. Bush next year.
"But I'm committed to trying to give more voices and choices to the American people on the ballot. That means more third parties, independent candidates and to break up this two-party elected dictatorship that is becoming more and more like a dial for the same corporate dollars."
After a lifetime of consumer, environmental and anti-big business advocacy and years of dabbling in presidential elections, in 1996 Nader was drafted to lead the Green Party ticket against incumbent President Bill Clinton and Republican senator Bob Dole.
He got less than one percent of the vote that year, but four years later, he ran again under the Green Party banner against Republican Bush and Democrat Gore, Clinton's vice president.
With the race extremely tight, Democrats bashed the Greens for taking away votes from their party, using the slogan "A vote for Nader is a vote for Bush."
Nader pulled in nationally 2.7 percent of the vote. The election came down to a disputed vote count in Florida, where Nader received nearly 100,000 votes, far more than the 537-vote lead Bush had over Gore in the official count.
Nader's critics argue that had he not run, his supporters would have backed the Democrats and given the election to Gore.
Nader ran again as an independent in 2004 in the race between Bush and John Kerry, and garnered only 0.4 percent of the national vote.
He told CNN Sunday that he might run again in 2008 if the Democrats chose Senator Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton's wife, as their candidate, saying "I don't think she has the fortitude" to be president.
He said he believed Democrats would back Clinton, "even though she is a corporate Democrat" with whom his backers differ on the Iraq war, universal health insurance, and other key issues. http://servihoo.com/Aujourdhui/kinews/afp_details.php?id=151751&CategoryID=74
Consumer champion Ralph Nader, whose candidacy in 2000 may have cost Democratic nominee Al Gore the US presidency, said he was open to a possible run for the White House in 2008.
Nader, a veteran of three attempts at the White House under the Green Party and independent banners, told CNN television he had not decided yet but that he is committed to offering voters more choices than the two mainstream parties, the Democrats and Republicans.
"It's really too early to say. I don't like long campaigns," said Nader, who will turn 73 this month, after being asked about the election to replace President George W. Bush next year.
"But I'm committed to trying to give more voices and choices to the American people on the ballot. That means more third parties, independent candidates and to break up this two-party elected dictatorship that is becoming more and more like a dial for the same corporate dollars."
After a lifetime of consumer, environmental and anti-big business advocacy and years of dabbling in presidential elections, in 1996 Nader was drafted to lead the Green Party ticket against incumbent President Bill Clinton and Republican senator Bob Dole.
He got less than one percent of the vote that year, but four years later, he ran again under the Green Party banner against Republican Bush and Democrat Gore, Clinton's vice president.
With the race extremely tight, Democrats bashed the Greens for taking away votes from their party, using the slogan "A vote for Nader is a vote for Bush."
Nader pulled in nationally 2.7 percent of the vote. The election came down to a disputed vote count in Florida, where Nader received nearly 100,000 votes, far more than the 537-vote lead Bush had over Gore in the official count.
Nader's critics argue that had he not run, his supporters would have backed the Democrats and given the election to Gore.
Nader ran again as an independent in 2004 in the race between Bush and John Kerry, and garnered only 0.4 percent of the national vote.
He told CNN Sunday that he might run again in 2008 if the Democrats chose Senator Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton's wife, as their candidate, saying "I don't think she has the fortitude" to be president.
He said he believed Democrats would back Clinton, "even though she is a corporate Democrat" with whom his backers differ on the Iraq war, universal health insurance, and other key issues. http://servihoo.com/Aujourdhui/kinews/afp_details.php?id=151751&CategoryID=74
posted by presgore19 at 3:14 AM
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