The Ralph bashing begins

Even people who consider themselves liberal thinkers, progressive advocates and who would agree nearly unanimously with every plank of his platform, are beginning to shriek inanities about Ralph Nader's run for president.

Nader, never forget, is brilliant, and he has already begun to get exactly what he wants.

Does anyone think that Nader himself harbors any hope of actually winning the election? At this point, Nader has stated bladly that it would take complete incompetency for the Democratic party to blow the election of its candidate (which he assumes will be Barack Obama, whom Nader has praised as running a brilliant campaign), against the shrill war cries, and the fear mongering of the Bush-mirror-image McCain campaign.

So what's Ralph want?

He wants to be heard. He wants the voice and the concerns of political dissent, the kind of political dissent which created this country, to be heard in the election. He wants to ruffle the feathers of the two party system. He wants a complacent Democratic party to be less about party leaders, political insiders and corporations.

And so far, he's on his way to getting what he wants.

For a crank, a pathetic narcissist and a perennial loser, he's sure gotten a lot of attention. NBC had Nader announce his candidacy on its top Sunday morning talk show. Every newspaper in the country will print the announcement.

He's made his first point, whether frightened liberal Democrats want to hear it or not. Nader is proving that some iberals will abandon their principles hastily when threatened by some of their own ideas. Liberals ought to be working against radical conservatism. Democrats ought to be worried about Republicans.

And Ralph. His goal is to get Barack Obama to begin talking about the things a change-minded, liberal-thinking, Democratic presidential candidate ought to be talking about - true universal health care, civil liberties, international justice, economic stability and justice in trade. And maybe, just maybe, Ralph will get the ear of a now skeptical Obama.