Tuesday
May132008
YouTube Interviews Ralph Nader
Tuesday, May 13, 2008 at 17:56 | baratunde | tagged Election 2008, Interview, Ralph Nader, Video, YouTube in Election 2008
I'll be honest. I got issues with Ralph. I don't blame him for the 2000 election. I blame the voters.
More seriously, I question whether running for president is the best way to bring about the radical change he wants. His premise is that his campaigns (because they surely will not become actual presidencies) help promote issues and move the debate.
Really? So over the last eight years, America has been engaged in a more honest discussion of war-making and corporate malfeasance than before? That I don't buy.
There are some cool moments in the interview, though, and Olivia Ma of YouTube does a good job keeping it moving. I actually like the "silent" questionnaire at the end. Perhaps it's because I'm just tired of hearing Nader speak.
More seriously, I question whether running for president is the best way to bring about the radical change he wants. His premise is that his campaigns (because they surely will not become actual presidencies) help promote issues and move the debate.
Really? So over the last eight years, America has been engaged in a more honest discussion of war-making and corporate malfeasance than before? That I don't buy.
There are some cool moments in the interview, though, and Olivia Ma of YouTube does a good job keeping it moving. I actually like the "silent" questionnaire at the end. Perhaps it's because I'm just tired of hearing Nader speak.
Reader Comments (1)
I'd love to see a multi-party system in America some day, but right now there are too many roadblocks, put in place by the very people who would stand to lose power. It's an issue right up there with campaign finance reform and government transparency. Perhaps for the time being there shouldn't be a third party candidate, but four campaigns running. Let the Libertarians have a candidate; let Nader campaign. That way they'd balance each other out in terms of siphoning off votes from the two establishment party candidates. It looks like that may be happening anyway. If there is a third party candidate like Barr to balance out Nader, I wouldn't mind too much that Nader runs. I would just discourage swing state voters from casting ballots for third party candidates for the time being.