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TODAY o June 25, 2000
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This election, Nader makes serious run at White House
Saeed Ahmed - Staff
Sunday, October 9, 2000
ATLANTA -- He will almost certainly not be the next president of the United
States, yet his candidacy could make the difference in this year's
race.
Ralph Nader, the anti-corporate crusader and consumer advocate, is
making a third run for the White House as the Green Party candidate,
a nomination he is expected to clinch at the party convention today
in Denver.
Unlike his uninspired 1996 effort, when he frustrated many Green
activists by refusing to campaign and yet finished with 1 percent of
the popular vote, Nader now hopes to raise \$5 million and earn at
least 5 percent of the vote -- a number that would qualify him for
millions in federal matching funds to build the Green Party.
"I am running so that we have a government of, by and for the
people instead a government of Exxon, by General Motors and for the
duPonts," said Nader, 66.
As evidence of his earnestness this go-round, Nader says he has
hired an image consultant to "convey 40 years of what I've been doing
to a younger audience," retained full-time campaign workers to get
the party on the ballot in every state and spends 18-hour days
zigzagging across all 50 states, often on a budget so spare he stays
at the homes of Green Party members to save on hotels.
His opposition to international trade agreements, strong stand on
environmental issues and attacks on corporate welfare is attracting
support from labor, students and others. Polls consistently show him
running third, garnering up to 7 percent in some national polls.
At rallies, Nader, in his shapeless blue suits, stands out as the
most straitlaced in a roomful of flannel-clad union organizers,
graying academics with Jerry Garcia-like beards and purple-haired
college students.
"His No. 1 appeal is his personal characteristic, the sense that
he doesn't take anything from anyone," said John Zogby, president of
polling firm Zogby International. "To some people, he is the last
honest man in America; to kids, he's retro-cool in the same way Led
Zeppelin and Cream is cool."
While once a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat himself, Nader now derides
both parties as being cut from the same cloth, where the only
difference is the "velocity at which their knees hit the ground when
corporations come calling." He is particularly harsh on Vice
President Al Gore, calling him "a chronic political coward and the
ultimate panderer."
Indeed, Gore has more to lose from Nader's entry into the race
than does Republican presumptive nominee George W. Bush --
especially in states like California and Ohio where the difference in
standing between the two front-runners is razor-thin. Two of every
three votes that Nader attracts come from Gore.
But if the man who killed off a sporty but unstable little car
called the Corvair some 35 years ago seems poised to do the same to
Gore's presidential aspirations, aides to the vice president say they
are not losing sleep over a Nader challenge just yet.
"When all is said and done, the two groups Mr. Nader is going
after -- the environmentally conscious and the consumers -- will
realize that the smart vote is the vote for Gore," said Jano Cabrera,
deputy national spokesman for Gore. "So we're not exactly quaking in
our boots."
While the Gore camp dismisses a potential Nader threat, many
Democratic and Republican strategists are now saying that Nader could
emerge as a political headache for Gore, especially as he continues
to gain in popularity among labor groups, distressed over the vice
president's recent support of the China trade deal.
Nader, however, has an uphill battle if he wants to play spoiler
in this year's race. He is the first to acknowledge that he's not the
best campaigner, being prone to long speeches.
And part of his iconic appeal -- the Harvard- educated ascetic
who doesn't own a car, a credit card or a television set -- was
dealt a blow this week when the financial disclosure report he filed
with the Federal Election Commission showed he's a millionaire
several times over, partly from speaking fees and partly from high-
tech stocks in a sophisticated portfolio.
Nader insists he gives half his speaking fees to charities and
lives on about $25,000 a year.
But there is a bigger obstacle, one that makes even many of
Nader's liberal allies question his ability to attract votes.
The Green Party's internal squabbles have prevented an effective
grass-roots organizational effort on its part.
Nader's focus on issues like trade in place of traditionally hot-
button social issues doesn't resonate as closely with many voters.
Nader must tackle two major challenges that lie ahead. Tough
ballot access laws in states like Georgia may prevent him from
getting on the November ballot and the refusal of the Commission on
Presidential Debates to include candidates polling at less than 15
percent nationally can rob him of a high-profile opportunity to draw
his contrasts with Gore.
"Right now, Nader is getting the kind of voters so turned off with
major parties that they wouldn't vote anyway," said Stuart
Rothenberg, a Washington-based political analyst. "But for him to
reach into the swing electorate, the platform he needs is TV debates.
That's absolutely crucial for him to make any kind of dent."
Such obstacles haven't discouraged Nader.
"We know we're up against odds, but when you start finding excuses
like 'we don't have the time' or 'it doesn't matter,' you should look
back at our forebears and what they fought against," Nader said. "We
look like jerks by comparison if we give up, if we don't really
strive."
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