[Dialogue] {Spam?} Re: Eight more years?

[David Walters]

Eight more years...........all over again.  Gavid Walters

ABC Newsa haa jusy reported...... 


Ralph Nader has formed a presidential exploratory committee, and said
in an interview Wednesday that he will launch another presidential
bid if he's convinced he can raise enough money to appear on the vast
majority of state ballots this fall. 

Nader, who ran as an independent candidate in each of the past three
presidential elections, told ABCNews.com that he will run in 2008 if
he is convinced over the next month that he would be able to raise
$10 million over the course of the campaign  and attract enough
lawyers willing to work free of charge to get his name on state
ballots. 

Nader said he filed papers with the Federal Election Commission and
launched a Web site after Dennis Kucinich, a liberal Ohio
congressman, announced his decision to withdraw from the presidential
race last week. 

He was set to announce that he had formed an exploratory committee
Wednesday, even before former Sen. John Edwards made it known that
he'd be ending his candidacy. But with Edwards  who has made
economic populism and ending poverty cornerstones of his campaign 
leaving the Democratic field, Nader said, he feels his candidacy is
more urgent than ever. 

"When Kucinich threw in the towel, now you have Edwards gone  who's
going to carry the torch of democratic populism against the
relentless domination of powerful corporations of our government?"
Nader said. "You can't just brush these issues to the side because
the candidates are ignoring them." 

He has harsh words for the leading Democratic candidates, Sen.
Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama, chastising them for failing to
advance aggressive plans to tax corporations more fairly, and to
fight for a vastly higher minimum wage. 

Obama, he said, is a particular disappointment, since his background
suggests that he knows the importance of progressive issues yet
hasn't fought for them in the Senate. 

"His record in the Senate is pretty mediocre," Nader said. "His most
distinctive characteristic is the extent to which he censors himself.
He hasn't performed as a really progressive first-term senator
would." 

His "self-censorship," Nader said, "is a reflection of character." 

He's no kinder to the Republican frontrunner, Sen. John McCain.
"Senator McCain is the candidate of perpetual war," he said. 

Nader also rejects the "spoiler" label many Democrats have applied to
him since 2000, when his candidacy was blamed in some circles for
helping defeat Democratic candidate Al Gore. 

"That is the sign of political bigotry," he said. "Why aren't the
major candidates spoilers? They represent parties that spoil our
electoral system and our government."