Ralph Nader for President

Ralph Nader, who turns 74 this week, announced today that he will be entering the presidential race as an independent. Many Americans, however, are still bitter about the 2000 election in which Nader's candidacy allegedly pulled support away from Al Gore and thus played a role in helping George W. Bush win the election. Nader ran again for president in 2004, but won only .3% of the vote.

Presidential hopefuls Clinton and Obama seemed scornful of Nader. Obama, recalling the 2000 election, argued that Nader "thought that there was no difference between Al Gore and George Bush, and eight years later, I think people realize that Ralph did not know what he was talking about."

Clinton, too, criticized Nader's past bid for presidency, saying "I remember when he ran before. It didn't turn out very well for anybody--especially our country."

The fear that Nader's candidacy could hurt the Democrats in the general election was echoed by Huckabee, who seemed pleased at Nader's decision to run. "I think it always would probably pull votes away from the Democrats and not the Republicans, so naturally, Republicans would welcome his entry into the race."

Do you think Nader's bid for the presidency will have an effect on the general election, positive or negative?
How successful do you think Nader will be at garnering support?

For more information on Ralph Nader's campaign, click here. For more information on his bid for the presidency, click here.