This is why Ralph Nader is necessary.
As you know, Nader declared his candidacy for President on Meet the Press today. The backlash has already begun, with other candidates, including Barack Obama who dismissed Nader's analysis of the parties by saying;
"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."
Unfortunately, Obama is not looking carefully at the failures of the DNC, the Democratic controlled Congress, or the way that the media treats marginalized candidates.
Let's set aside Nader's truly heroic stature (which BTW Obama recognizes), and try to understand that the elected offices of the United States are not guaranteed only to members of the Democratic and Republican parties.
Nader defends himself well on his Meet the Press appearance (all the segments, available on line are worth watching ,and BTW excuse the Boeing sponsorship ads), but his critique of Obama makes it clear to me why I must remain a reluctant supporter of the Senator from Illinois.
I don't know that I'll vote for Nader in the general election. I certainly will sign a petition to get him on the ballot in this state, and I may even volunteer to pass one of those petitions around.
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