He's Baaaaack! Ralph Nader Announces Run for President

In what for Democrats must seem like an eerie replay of the 2000 election cycle, Ralph Nader once again went on "Meet the Press" to announce that he's running for president. Nader loves poking both political parties in the eye, but his presence in the presidential race always hurts the Democrats more, since Nader is much too liberal for most Republicans to consider.

You can find out a lot more about Nader, his history as a consumer and political activist, and more at his Web site, www.nader.org. You can learn more about his presidential bid and get e-mail updates at www.votenader.org. Don't try to find into at "ralphnader.org;" there doesn't seem to be such a site.

Some Democrats are no doubt still steamed over Nader's run, which got him enough votes in Florida to cause Al Gore to lose that state (and eventually the election). This time around, it seems Nader will have less of an impact. Democrats have said they are pretty satisfied with their choices this year, and both Clinton and Obama supporters say they will support the other Democrat if their candidate doesn't get the nomination.

There's no way in hell most Republicans would even consider the vote Nader option. So how many votes can Nader get, and who will he pull them from? Maybe some ultra-progressive Democrats, but those have already decided to go with Obama.

If Ralph Nader can't get many votes in the U.S. election, maybe he can satisfy his need to force political change in another country. I hear Cuba is looking for a new leader, and they are certainly in need of some serious reform.