Darth Nader

So focused on beating Bush are some prominent progressives and (progressive media) that they are begging Ralph Nader not to run for president in 2004. This is the Lesson Learned from 2000, and part one of What We're Bitter About (in terms of it surfacing, not in importance or bitterness, for part two is Florida Disenfranchises Black Voters and part three is the really big Scalia Appoints the President.)

The Nader nattering is happening now because Nader has used it to get himself booked on Meet the Press on Sunday, which has replaced the press conference in the old home town or even Larry King Live as the place to announce your candidacy. He says he'll announce his decision then and there. Those who claim to be In the Know say he will announce he'll run as an independent (not Green Party) candidate. We're not so sure. Last time we saw an actual statement by Nader he said something like he'd decide based on grassroots support, but that he hadn't detected much so far. That was not more than a week ago. The grassroots are no Greener this week. So he might not. (But then again, we thought Colin Powell would prevent Bush from launching a stupid preemptive war on Iraq.)

Could Nader strip enough votes from Kerry---ah, sorry, the Democratic nominee---to throw the election to Bush? The Big Nightmare of 2004? (Or one of them.) Some say he won't get nearly as many votes in 04 as in 00---there just isn't going to be much of that Gush v. Bore, they are all the same horseshit. Well, that's probably right. But then again, Pat Buchanan isn't running, and the votes he took from Bush in 00 and won't take in 04 might make up the difference. So yes, Nader could cause trouble, maybe even enough to...no, we can't even SAY IT.

There are people out there who see the president or even the Candidate as some sort of hero-god; they love Him and if he Fails somehow they are Crushed. They're so pure they won't vote for anybody human unless they're vegan. (Vegans are usually human, except the ones from Vega.) They are therefore always setting themselves up for 1) Disappointment, and 2) exploitation. Ralph Nader is a crusader. He's succeeded by being relentless, if not fanatic. I don't know if he's a raging egotist at this point, but sometimes he acts like one. That's the other side of being relentless and fanatical. And so invested in purity. He should probably just take Holy Orders and start a monastery of Nader's Pray-ers.

Nader might believe that the time is right to absorb angry Deaniacs, now that John--I mean--Howard has gotten out of the race. And he might attract some , especially the Vegans (the ones from Vega who don't understand earth politics and have a culture that worships emotion and thinks logic is bad.) But if Nader does announce, Howard Dean has to get out there RIGHT AWAY and gently but firmly tell his supporters that their campaign was about defeating George Bush, and not to take their eye off the ball. They would be subverting everything they accomplished in making the Democratic candidates bolder and more aggressive. Eventually Dennis the K has to do the same thing, for his following is easily as fervent as Dean's and Greens.

It will be best for Nader and certainly best for the country if Nader announces that he's not running. But even if he does, there's a long way to go...We're likely to see at least two major shifts before it's over. At some point before the conventions, Bush's money is going to start wearing at Kerry's image, then the Dem convention will give Kerry a bounce, and then the GOP convention will give Bush a bounce, and then we'll see who takes the momentum. Of course, this year has been so unpredictable all that may be bullshit. But there is a decent chance that Kerry is going to win by a margin no one is predicting at the moment, and Nader won't matter. But even so, getting in the race gives the Bushies hope. And we hate to do that.

Early polls in New York and California show Kerry 40 to 50 points ahead of Edwards for Super Tuesday. But this is not a "comfortable" lead, in that this is no time for Kerry to get comfortable. But it's also hardly reason to worry. Kerry's been up and down on the stump, but when he's good---as he was in his interview this week with the PBS Newshour---he's excellent. He inspires confidence. Suggests to us once again that when he's engaged, he can outshine Edwards in the debate forum that Edwards wants desperately to use to boost his candidacy.

Bush is losing credibility like air from a punctured balloon. This week, two reports signed by Nobel scientists said his administration is distorting scientific facts for political gain (wonder where he got that idea?) and Bush himself had to disavow the prediction for job growth that he signed off on a week ago.

And so far the usual rabid right techniques haven't even begun to work. The rumors of illicit romance fizzled--it was supposed to be an intern naturally---when the woman not-involved denied it, and incidentally, denied she'd ever been an intern, and her parents declared for Kerry--and the incredibly damning photo showing John Kerry and the wicked witch of the right, Jane Fonda AT THE SAME PODIUM IN 1971! turned out to be a fake. Not only that, but the actual photo of Kerry alone at the podium was taken by a guy who is now a PROFESSOR OF JOURNALISM ETHICS, and guess what? He's really pissed.