Maybe voter turnouts have been abysmal over the last few decades, and maybe elections have been less than interesting in the eye of the public. Considering our #1 concern for candidates ultimately ends up being their charisma, I suppose it's only fitting the last few presidential elections have been a little less riveting than the season finale of American Idol. OK, that person won, woopty-doo, let's move on.
I suppose it's also fitting that it takes a phenomenal conundrum like George W. Bush to urge voters, supporters and opponents alike, with renewed interest to the polls on November 2nd. But in the wake of all the hotly contested debates, amid the people who hate Bush's blunders and Kerry's rhetoric, one independent still remains on the 2004 ticket.
You gotta give it to the underdog, Ralph Nader. The guy is pushing as hard as the fat kid who keeps getting passed up for the basketball team. For this and the last two election years, he's continued his fight against "corporate pornography" for 1% of the common man - a real non-traditionalist's kinda' guy. Think buzzwords.
I was surprised to see his name on a Presidential poll the other day, getting his obligatory 1%. I Googled his name, and sure enough, he's in the running with a guy named Camejo who looks like a Latin Donald Rumsfeld ("Saddam no es bueno"). Funny enough, Camejo's site is still up for his `04 California Governor campaign.
Another Right-Wing Conspiracy? Sorta?
So why does this seemingly inoffensive guy pose a threat to so many people? I mean, honestly, he looks like he has less gusto than Ned Flanders. You could probably borrow his rake for four years and he'd still act cordial in passing at the Wal-Mart check-out line.
But, he could steal votes from the Democrats. He apparently did it in 2000 from Gore's demographic, and he stands to do it again for Kerry. Needless to say, Democrats want him to step down and fade away from our memories like Tara Reed. Republicans, well, they love it. I'm sure.
One web site, thenaderfactor.com, goes so far as to say that Bush's folks are funding Nader's campaign, just to steal votes from Kerry. Those cheating bastards! Why, that's just... totally idiotic. I don't know how Bush's folks have so much money to go around during their own campaign that they can dish a hundred thousand or two to Nader, but I do know it'd take a lot more spare money and both of Janet Jackson's boobs to get Ralph's face back into the spotlight. If they are giving him money, it's certainly not going into his campaign headquarters (he's bit of a tightwad apparently).
To counter the terrible threat the lazy-eyed Nader presents, another website, theunitycampaign.org, urges people to vote "strategically" for Kerry. So, if you live in a swing state where your vote apparently counts more than other people's, you should lightly punch your chad for John Kerry and John Edwards.
In the end,...
It's good to see our bipartisan system also offers a distraction from the usual polarized debates with a little independent humor. I can't say I'm gonna' vote for Nader / Camejo, and I can't say Camejo's likeness to Rumsfeld isn't helping him any either. But, I can say that it's always good to see a guy push as hard as Nader. With the Naders and Buchanans of this world, you'll always have a fat kid trying out for the basketball team to root for.
So why does this seemingly inoffensive guy pose a threat to so many people? I mean, honestly, he looks like he has less gusto than Ned Flanders. You could probably borrow his rake for four years and he'd still act cordial in passing at the Wal-Mart check-out line.