Tuesday
Nov042008
Nader mocks the media
Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader gave a few choice words on the election, emphasis on “few”.
In an act that was part satire and part protest, Nader gave a press conference in which for the first portion he would only respond to reporters’ questions with one word answers, mocking what his campaign describes as the media’s reliance on sound bites.
When asked for one word to describe Obama, Nader responded “clever”, and described the amount of money the Obama campaign has spent as “disgusting”. When questioned what the major policy difference between Obama and himself Nader answered “corporations”. When asked what promises Obama wouldn’t keep Nader replied “change”, “hope”, and “peace”.
When asked about his impression of McCain, Nader answered with “clone” and “Bushlike”. Prompted to predict which Presidential candidate he would take more votes from, Nader responded “McCain” and when pressed to elaborate said “polls”.
Nader answered that the reason he ran this year was “justice” and that he would “maybe” decide to run in 2012.
In the second portion of the conference, Nader reverted to complete sentences and elaborated on his grievance with the media.
“It’s remarkable, when journalism studies this campaign that Joe the plumber will have received more coverage than a Nader-Gonzales campaign rooted in forty years of accomplishment and determination. This is one of the worst hours of the press.”
Nader also blamed the candidates for the coverage, saying that the repetitive nature of the candidates forced the media to resort to trivia.
“The candidates have wasted almost two years in redundancy and evasion and refusal to elaborate on what’s troubling most Americans on the community level.”
In an act that was part satire and part protest, Nader gave a press conference in which for the first portion he would only respond to reporters’ questions with one word answers, mocking what his campaign describes as the media’s reliance on sound bites.
When asked for one word to describe Obama, Nader responded “clever”, and described the amount of money the Obama campaign has spent as “disgusting”. When questioned what the major policy difference between Obama and himself Nader answered “corporations”. When asked what promises Obama wouldn’t keep Nader replied “change”, “hope”, and “peace”.
When asked about his impression of McCain, Nader answered with “clone” and “Bushlike”. Prompted to predict which Presidential candidate he would take more votes from, Nader responded “McCain” and when pressed to elaborate said “polls”.
Nader answered that the reason he ran this year was “justice” and that he would “maybe” decide to run in 2012.
In the second portion of the conference, Nader reverted to complete sentences and elaborated on his grievance with the media.
“It’s remarkable, when journalism studies this campaign that Joe the plumber will have received more coverage than a Nader-Gonzales campaign rooted in forty years of accomplishment and determination. This is one of the worst hours of the press.”
Nader also blamed the candidates for the coverage, saying that the repetitive nature of the candidates forced the media to resort to trivia.
“The candidates have wasted almost two years in redundancy and evasion and refusal to elaborate on what’s troubling most Americans on the community level.”
tagged 
Nader, mccain, obama in Election '08
Nader, mccain, obama in Election '08
Reader Comments (11)
I voted for Ralph Nader fro US President!
McBama never spoke truth to:Economy, Environment or their Health Care Plans
[...] TalkRadioNews ndependent presidential candidate Ralph Nader gave a few choice words on the election, emphasis on [...]
Brilliant!
[...] on getting out the vote and preparing for the returns to come in. According to reports from the Talk Radio News Service and MSNBC, Nader announced that during the first portion of the press conference he would only [...]
Good for Ralph Nader.
Ralph Nader is my Hero. I hope to meet him one day. If he decides to run 2012, he has my vote (was 17 this election)
Finally it's over - the self-serving media orgy that's lasted 2 years. Like many things in America the presidential campaign is over done. Is there anything that we couldn't have know just as well in say 2 or 3 months?
Congratulations to Ralph Nader for speaking directly to the main problem in America - the concentration of wealth and power. Of course, that is exactly why Ralph couldn't be elected.
And congratulation to Barack Obama for having the skill to say all the right things to get elected. Let's hope he has enough energy left to govern the nation after a half term of office spent just to get there and that he address causes that Ralph Nader has championed for years.
I'm glad I stuck to voting for Nader. It's inspiring to see the first African-American president (alas, I may never see a woman in my lifetime). But when making a choice between skin color and issues, I had to go with Nader.
I started thinking about it today after reading the story in Time titled something along the lines of "3rd parties look to play spoilers again." In it, it stated that Bob Barr was polling early on at around 8% after announcing his bid. I thought back on this, and then I remembered the MSM coverage then which immediately proclaimed Barr as "the 2008 Nader, out to spoil the election for Republicans."
I used to think the major parties played up this concept of them literally owning our votes, but I think the media is as responsible or more for this. "Third party candidates" (in itself a dismissive moniker exploited by our media) don't run to "steal" the election, they run to win and inform with their platforms. Spoiling an election would seem to mean they are doing something undemocratic or outside the rules, yet all they're doing is offering an alternative platform. The media continues to play scare tactics with potential third party voters by warning of the threat of getting the worst of two evils, assuring that the easily swayed public never vote on principle for someone who actually represents their best interests.
Ultimately, it's the fault of the populace for falling into comas for 3 years and then buying the same stale arguments each year about the differences between the parties (how long will we debate issues like abortion and gay marriage which never change) when the real issues that plague us are ignored?
People clamor for change when they really need progress. Rhetoric can only get us so far. As long as we continue to support the two parties who are complicit in enacting the policies that lead to our ills while ignoring our wishes (like the massively opposed bailout that neither party stopped), we have to take our medicine. It's up to us to demand more of our media and our elected officials.
Unfortunately, in four years I fear we'll again vote for the best marketing campaign, most charismatic, or most convincing liar. As much as our politicians and media enable it, it's our fault. The fact that people like Nader continue to run in the face of these issues, and our seeming indifference is a testament to this man's dedication to improving the American way of life. Do you think any Democratic or Republican candidate would work as hard as he does year after year in the face of such indifference? Hell no. Thank you Ralph. You give us hope. And to Matt Gonzalez, PLEASE carry the torch. Your performance at the 3rd party VP debate was inspiring.
I voted for Ralph Nader. Thank you, Ralph, for being on the ballot. I would have never voted for Barack Obama or John McCain!
We can help to make sure that third parties will have a voice despite the media blackout and scare mongering by getting Instant Runoff Voting enacted in as many places as possible before the next election.
http://instantrunoff.com
www.fairvote.org