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CNN.com is reporting that Ralph Nader has once again decided to run for president. If he had even the slightest chance of winning the election, his candidacy would offer another potentially good choice for president.
Ralph Nader is not going to win the election, though, and it won't even be close. If he is foolish enough to see his candidacy through to the end, he will again take a minuscule portion of the vote away from the only viable candidate with views similar enough to his to take them to Washington D.C. and if the race is close, he will again help the candidate with the least similar views win the presidency.
Idealism can be great, but there are times when pragmatism and common sense should bring an intelligent person to compromise. Ralph Nader's unwavering idealism is helping the Republicans with their imperialist agenda, fear-mongering, war-mongering, and assaults on freedom, privacy, and both civil rights and human rights in general.
Ralph Nader may be an intelligent person, but he is a fool for letting his idealism help the greatest opponents of his ideals. He is the most paradoxical candidate I have yet seen pursue the presidency. Even Ron Paul, another long-shot candidate, had the sense to try to win the support of a party with the clout and resources to send a viable candidate to the general election.
If Ralph Nader wants so much as a sympathetic ear in Washington, his best bet is probably to ride the wave of publicity through the Democratic primaries, keep a low profile until the initial publicity over candidate selection declines, then give the Democratic candidate a boost of publicity and votes by withdrawing his own candidacy and endorsing the Democratic candidate.
