I was as pissed off at Nader as anyone. But, given some distance I realize that Nader wasn't the problem. Gore himself wasn't the problem, except for one thing: political parties have become waaaayyyyyy too important. I understand that political parties became necessary in response to Jackson losing the first time - after clearly having won the election. They used to be a good thing. Now, however, the parties have become the enemy of the people. Money is and always has been King in Murica. Without established parties (which are more like corporations than anything else) the true rulers of Murica (read multi-national corp board of directors) could not so easily corrupt our system and force us to bend to their will. I dunno if Ralph understands that or not, but I suspect he understands it better than most.

Perhaps the best example of how damaging our political parties have become to us was the Jerry Brown campaign. Even though he won a significant number of primaries, the Party(tm) did not want him to speak during prime time on teevee (where most Muricans form their voting decisions). Coverage of his campaign - even on the allegedly left-biased NPR - was disgraceful.

During Jackson's time we could not have a democracy without strong political parties. Today, we cannot have a democracy with strong political parties.

Can the current system be reformed from within? I think that's the base question. Answer "No" and one might/must support another Nader run. Answer "Yes" and Nader is to be condemned.

It is an important question and one I have not given enough thought to. However, recent events (USSC appointment, Gestapo OHS implementation, suspension of the Bill of Rigths, etc.) are pushing me ever closer to answer the above question "No". That said, I have no illusions about Nader's delusions of grandeur. My point is simply that through his actions he may be underscoring an argument he, himself, hasn't even thought about.