The Candidates on Nader

February 24, 2008, 3:53 pm
The Candidates on Nader

By Kate Phillips

The Democratic and Republican candidates have begun weighing in on Ralph Nader’s announcement this morning on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that yes, he has decided to run for the presidency under the mantle of the Green Party, again. While he has been derided by Democrats for taking away votes from Al Gore in the 2000 presidential race, his impact in 2004 was minimal.

But he outlined his reasons for offering himself up yet again as a choice for voters before Tim Russert earlier today, as our colleague Sarah Wheaton posted earlier. NBC also has posted the video and the transcript of its interview with Mr. Nader.

Meanwhile, the candidates, with the exception of Senator John McCain, who is on a “down day,” had a bit to say about this late-hour bid. The Times’s Julie Bosman was on the plane with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today, when the Democratic candidate was asked about Mr. Nader’s decision. Here’s her file:

Speaking to reporters on board her campaign plane, Mrs. Clinton expressed surprise at the news that Mr. Nader planned to run.

“I don’t know what to say,” she said, when a reporter asked for comment. “Wow, that’s really unfortunate. I remember when he did this before. It’s not good for anybody, especially our country.”

She added, “I didn’t know that he had said that this morning. Obviously it’s not helpful to whoever our Democratic nominee is. But it’s a free country and I don’t know what party he’ll run on. What did he run on last time, does anybody remember?

The Green Party, a reporter replied.

“Well, you know his being on the Green Party prevented Al Gore from being the greenest president we’ve ever had,” Mrs. Clinton said. “And I think that’s really unfortunate.”

Tim Russert, the host of M.T.P., did point out to Mr. Nader that George W. Bush won in Florida with a little more than 500 votes, as Mr. Nader siphoned more than 97,000 away from Mr. Gore, a numerical factor that left many Democrats embittered.

Another of our colleagues, Michael Powell, is traveling with Senator Barack Obama this week. He filed this report about comments the Illinois senator made yesterday and today about Mr. Nader:

When it comes to Ralph Nader, Senator Obama tends to circle him as a mongoose might a cobra.

That is, he rejects the likely three-time presidential candidate’s criticisms of him, but is careful to toss out a compliment his way before dismissing him.

“Ralph Nader deserves enormous credit for the work he did as a consumer advocate,” Mr. Obama said in Lorain, Ohio,. “But his function as a perennial candidate is not putting food on the table of workers.”

Mr. Obama, who briefly organized with a Nader-influenced group as a young man, suggested that Mr. Nader tends in recent years to assume that candidates’ are fatally flawed if they fail to recognize the wisdom of his views.

“He seems to have a pretty high opinion of his own work,” Mr. Obama said a day earlier.

After Mr. Nader criticized Mr. Obama on M.T.P. today, Mr. Obama responded: “I think his view is if, unless it’s Ralph Nader, that you’re not tough enough. I mean that’s been his view. He 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, and so, I mean honestly I’m, at this point, obviously much more concerned with winning the Democratic primary than I am to responding to those issues.”

Mike Huckabee, who enjoyed many laughs last night on “Saturday Night Live” when he refused to leave the stage — a parody, of course, of his uphill battle as he continues to campaign despite his rival John McCain’s indomitable lead among Republican candidates — also commented on Mr. Nader’s decision. On CNN’s “Late Edition” today:

Mr. Huckabee: Well, I think it always would probably pull votes away from the Democrats, not the Republicans. So naturally Republicans would welcome his entry into the race and hope that maybe a few more will join in.

CNN’s John King: As you know, there has been chatter from time to time about the prospect of a third party candidacy from the right. Have you picked that up at all in your travels? That if John McCain is the Republican nominee, perhaps there would be a significant third party challenge from the right?

Mr. Huckabee: I don’t think so. I mean, a couple of times it will get mentioned. But people will say, would you ever consider it? And my answer is emphatically no. I think it is a suicide mission, third party candidates are not going to win the election. At best they are going to take away from one of the major parties.

Of other once-possible candidates there is Senator Chuck Hagel, Republican of Nebraska. He was asked today on CNN about Mr. Nader’s nascent candidacy and about Mr. McCain’s run.

Mr. King: Ralph Nader dropped his toe into the race today, saying he is going to run again. What is the impact of that? And is Chuck Hagel out of the mix here? Have you talked to Mayor Bloomberg lately?

Mr. Hagel: Chuck Hagel is out of the mix. I’m going to continue to focus on my job in the Senate, and do what I can do to influence the direction of our country over the next year.

As to Nader, I think it’s one of those years that is very unpredictable, and I think there will be many twists and turns with a very unpredictable current running right now. And we’ll see what happens.

But I think democracy should be about choices, and certainly people who have something to say should offer themselves as legitimate candidates for president.

Mr. King: You say Chuck Hagel is out of the mix. You are still the Republican senator from Nebraska, a fellow Vietnam veteran. John McCain is likely to be your party’s nominee.

Any question — will you support John McCain?

Mr. Hagel: Well, I’ve not been involved in the primary and I am still not involved in any of that. At the appropriate time, then I’ll have something to say about it.

Mr. King: Are you saying you might not support the Republican Party’s nominee?

Mr. Hagel: I said at the appropriate time, I’ll have something to say about it.

Mr. King: Let me ask you — let me see if it’s an appropriate time to ask you about this one. This is something you said to the Cornhusker on February 9th about one of the Democratic candidates, a man who at the moment might be considered the Democratic frontrunner, Barack Obama. You said — “I like Barack Obama a lot. He’s smart. He listens. He learns. He’s a worthy candidate for president.”

Could Barack Obama potentially get your support in a race against John McCain?

Mr. Hagel: I think he is a worthy candidate for president, as is Senator Clinton, as is certainly Senator McCain, others.

Mr. King: Others. You think we’re going to get more than Ralph Nader?

Mr. Hagel: I don’t know. You’ve been covering the campaign, I haven’t.

Mr. King: I think you might be involved in some of these conversations, I’m not.

Mike Bloomberg, anyone? Kevin Sheekey, care to weigh in now?