Nader the Vote Raider

I don't have much to add to Sheril's recent post on Ralph Nader--and I certainly don't have anything nearly as clever to put up here as the Forrest Gump picture (although I will add that unlike Nader, Forrest did eventually stop running). I will say this, though. As someone who was working at a liberal magazine, The American Prospect, at the time of the 2000 election, I observed a peculiar phenomenon. The older folks at the magazine, who remembered Ralph Nader as a hero, seemed more inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt. But the younger people like myself, who really only knew Nader as a spoiler, weren't nearly so favorably disposed. Now, eight years later, with Nader threatening to do it yet again, it is getting harder and harder to hold on to a generally positive view of the man based solely on his past achievements. You have to take into account what he has done since 2000 and weigh it pretty heavily too. As a result, I think this guy has pretty much lost my generation. Which is pretty sad, when you consider that he'll be lucky to get even 1 percent of the vote.