Did Ralph Nader pitch himself as Howard Dean's vice presidential nominee? That's what Mike Ford, a former Dean adviser says on the Jerry for Ohio blog. (Yes, that's Jerry Springer.)
About three months ago, Nader apparently walked into Dean's Burlington headquarters to "dialogue," Ford claims. "He was quite impressive intellectually and the firmness of his vision was also impressive. At the time of the visit, Howard was still the front runner and the Nader entourage made a blatant pitch for a Nader Vice Presidential nomination."
If this is true, it's quite curious that the crusading Nader would consider making such a compromise. Months before, Nader told Fox News host John Gibson that while Dean's speeches were "quite good," he had a mediocre record in Vermont; that Dean was practically a corporate tool. Nader on July 2, 2003: "Someone said in Vermont that [Dean's] the originator of the triangulation. Part Republican, part Democrat. Very, very obeisant to corporate power up there. So I think more of that is going to start spilling beyond the borders of Vermont and there is going to be more critical appraisal of Howard Dean."
So why would Nader push for the No. 2 spot on a Dean-led ticket? It's the same thing that's inspired Ralph to jump into the race as an independent, Ford says: "The only thing that impressed me more than Nader's brain was his outsized ego. Got to say, that's what seems to be the driver here and it's more about his personal agenda and, I think, about that huge ego rather than beating Bush."
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