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Nader Joins Presidential Campaign

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By JAN HOLLINGSWORTH, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 25, 2008

TAMPA - He has been called by some the most stubborn man in America, by others the most unreasonable.

For one pivotal moment in U.S. history, however, it could be said he was the most important, having played a critical role in determining who was to be the leader of the free world.

Now, Ralph Nader is poised again to enter the political fray, announcing Sunday on NBC's "Meet The Press" his intention to seek the presidency for the fourth time since 1996 as a third-party candidate.

"You have to ask yourself as a citizen, should we elaborate the issues that the two (parties) are not talking about?" Nader said. He said voters are feeling "locked out, shut out, marginalized, disrespected" on issues from the Middle East, Enron and Katrina to bungling by both parties.

"In that context, I have decided to run for president," said Nader, who turns 74 this week.

Nader's last run as an independent in 2004 attracted little notice and only 0.3 percent of the votes cast.

Four years before, though, with Al Gore and George W. Bush in a dead heat for the White House, Nader won 2.7 percent of the vote on the Green Party ticket, including more than 97,000 votes in Florida, ground zero of the presidential election.

With the outcome of the election hinging on a few hundred disputed Florida votes, resentment still simmers over the votes Nader siphoned from Gore.

Nader's refusal to bow out of the race shattered the Green Party, prompting him to run on the Reform ticket in 2004.

Julia Aires, Green Party spokeswoman for Florida, still stands on principle, though she has not yet decided who she will support at the party's Chicago convention in July.

"I cannot regret doing what I think was the right thing to do," she said of her support of Nader in 2000. "The lesser evil is still evil."

In an interview with The Associated Press, the longtime consumer advocate rejected the notion he is a spoiler candidate, saying the electorate will not vote for a "pro-war John McCain." Nader added, "If the Democrats can't landslide the Republicans this year, they ought to just wrap up."

Nader said he will decide in the coming days whether to run as an independent, Green Party candidate or in another third party.

Aires said there are influential members of Florida's Green Party who may not welcome Nader with open arms.

With four lesser-known individuals seeking the nomination, she said she intends to vote her conscience, whether Nader is on the ticket or not.

Information from the Associated Press and McClatchy Newspapers was used in this report. Reporter Jan Hollingsworth can be reached at (813) 865-4436 or jhollingsworth@tampatrib.com.

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