I have to admit that I'm getting sick of people blaming Nader for Gore's loss or predicting that he will cause Bush to win a second term. Why doesn't anyone talk about the Democrats who voted for Bush. Isn't it the job of the Democratic Party to appeal to the voters. Apparently they did a bad job since Gore didn't win. The question is going to be if they can do a better job this time around.

I'm not saying that Nader and his issues appeal to most Americans. I don't consider myself to be in line with most Americans. That wasn't my point. My point is that I am happy he is running because he is talking about some issues that are important to me. I disagree that Nader's issues are going to be ignored. If media continues to talk about him, his issues are going to be in there somewhere. The effect might be small, but it is at least a start.

Of course I am being idealistic here! We are a society that aspires to great ideals -- freedom, equal rights, religious freedom, free speech, etc. The fact that we are not talking about ideals scares me. I am saddened by the fact that the top criteria for a candidate is now criteria. Anyone but Bush isn't a sexy battle cry for me. Yes, Bush does suck and I am definitely not his biggest fan.

Right now, Nader is not helping the Green party. The Green party is going to pick their candidate over the summer and Nader felt that it would be too late to get his name on the ballot some states. He has stated that his goal is to be on the ballot in all 50 states. So, even though I would love to see more then two parties, I hope that Nader will at least force some candidates to take a stance on at least a few of his 21 issues.

Wouldn't Nader be a non-issue if people would quite complaining?

Finally, I take issue with your statement that I have no understanding of politics. Politics is all about who gets what, when, where, and how. This is what I study. I've studied US foreign policy, preemption, homeland security, etc. There are very few things that are cut and dry or black and white in politics/policy. Do I think that Nader will win? No. But by the mere fact that he is running, he is changing the landscape of the election. Do I want to see Bush elected for another four years? Hell no! At the same time, I don't want just anyone to be our president.

Saying that you don't like Nader is fine. I am more then happy to participate in that debate. Criticizing someone for voting for Nader, Bush, etc. is not cool. The people who should be criticized are those who don't vote. If you don't vote, then you have no right to complain about the direction of our country. I support everyone voting... Even if they vote for Bush! If more of the population would vote, corporations would control less of our government. Bush is president because Gore didn't do a good job of appealing to voters and people didn't vote. If voters from Gore's own party would have voted for him instead of Bush, he would have easily won. This isn't about how Nader caused or is going to cause Bush to win. It is about the fact that BOTH PARTIES (Democratic and Republican) are doing a horrible job at appealing to voters. As a country, we are doing doing a pretty good job at playing dumb. We don't work to educate ourselves about what is going on in our country or the world. Since we are the ONLY SUPERPOWER, we have a duty to pull our heads out of the sand.