memeorandum: Ralph Nader: tragedy to farce (James Fallows)

4:05 PM ET, February 24, 2008

Top Items:

Consumer advocate Nader starts presidential bid — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer advocate Ralph Nader said on Sunday that he is launching another long shot independent campaign for president of the United States. — Nader, who will turn 74 this week, announced his presidential bid on NBC's …

Discussion: Daily Kos, Sister Toldjah, The Mahatma X Files, Taylor Marsh, American Street, The Seminal, the talking dog, Wake up America, Macsmind, TBogg, The Political Inquirer and A Blog For All

The Politico:

Nader enters in boon to GOP — Ralph Nader announced on NBC's “Meet the Press” that he'll run as a third-party, anti-corporate candidate for president this fall, which would be likely to drain votes from the Democratic nominee and provide a huge boon to Republicans.

Discussion: The Swamp, American Power and Open Left

James Fallows:

Ralph Nader: tragedy to farce — I have liked and admired Ralph Nader so much. I first worked for him when I was in my teens (and he was in his 30s). Under his auspices, encouragement, and relentless pressure, I'd written two books for his organization by the time I was 23 — if only I'd been able to keep up that pace!

Discussion: MoJoBlog, The Caucus, 23/6, PoliGazette and Roger Ailes

Hope Yen / Associated Press:

Nader announces new bid for White House — WASHINGTON - Ralph Nader said Sunday he will run for president as a third-party candidate, criticizing the top White House contenders as too close to big business and pledging to repeat a bid that will “shift the power from the few to the many.”

Discussion: MyDD, Middle Earth Journal, Pandagon, Boston Globe, Blue Crab Boulevard and Secular Blasphemy

Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:
Ralph Nader Will Run For President Again But Faces Different Political Landscape

Discussion: The Swamp, WSJ.com, Commentary and Booman Tribune

MSNBC:
‘Meet the Press’ transcript for Feb. 24, 2008

Discussion: Firedoglake, Redstate and Political Radar

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Nader An Oh-Eighter — Barack Obama can now point to someone running …

Discussion: BBC, Matthew Yglesias and AMERICAblog

Associated Press:
Nader running for president

Discussion: Gothamist and TVNewser

Mark Silva / The Swamp:
Ralph Nader running again — impact on the race?

Discussion: The Politico and Politics Plus

CNN:
Ralph Nader enters presidential race

Discussion: Balkinization, Through the Magnifying Glass and MSNBC

ABCNEWS: Ralph Nader Running for President — Again

Yahoo! News:
Nader announces another presidential bid

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report and blonde sagacity

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN EMBRACES OBAMA HOAX EMAIL — Overtime, and pretty quickly now, it'll make sense to keep a list of stuff like this. On Friday night's Bill Maher show, Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) claimed that Barack Obama refuses to say the pledge of allegiance to the American flag.

Discussion: The Newshoggers, The Carpetbagger Report, Oliver Willis and The Huffington Post

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
GOING TO THE EXPERTS — Does Obama have a patriotism problem?

Discussion: Salon, Balloon Juice, The Carpetbagger Report, Associated Press and RADAMISTO

Jeralyn / TalkLeft:

Saturday Night Live Pulls One Out for Hillary — (Updated to include video). Comments now closed.) — Do not miss the You Tube of Tina Fey's commentary on Saturday Night Live last night when it comes out. It was incredible. My DD has a rough transcript of the last part. … More...

Discussion: Washington Times, The Trail, The Democratic Daily, Booman Tribune, Buck Naked Politics, PSoTD and Outside The Beltway

Sweetness & Light:

Obama Wore Muslim Garb During Kenya Trip? — A poster named “Bannie” at Free Republic has noted a photo that appeared in the February 4, 2008 edition of the notoriously unreliable supermarket tabloid, the National Examiner: … It appeared in the following National Examiner article:

Discussion: Stop The ACLU, Atlas Shrugs, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and Gateway Pundit

Faiz / Think Progress:

Kristol: ‘I Recommend The Politics Of Fear’ — This morning on Fox News Sunday, New York Times columnist Bill Kristol recommended that Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) employ the “politics of fear” to attack Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL): … Kristol explained that his fear-mongering political strategy would focus on Iran.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

Matthew Yglesias:

Are You Experienced? — Scott Lemieux further elaborates on the trouble with the Hillary Clinton experience argument: … I think the point in the parenthesis is key. If you win a primary on an “experience” argument, then you'd damn well better be more experienced than your general election opponent.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Liberal Values, The Democratic Daily, Lawyers, Guns and Money and Donklephant

Josh Meyer / Los Angeles Times:

White House backtracks on claims of lost intelligence — Hours after chiding Congress for not finishing a wiretapping bill and leaving the nation ‘vulnerable to terrorist attack,’ officials acknowledge all requested information is being received. — WASHINGTON — A day after warning …

Discussion: The Corner

Colin McEnroe / Hartford Courant:

The Lobbyist, The Drudge, The Times, The Fixer — The older I get, the less I want to know about anybody else's sex life. If you put a picture face down in front of me and told me it was Tiger Woods and Lindsay Lohan engaged in an act of lewd and lascivious congress, I would not turn it over.

Discussion: Firedoglake

Jonathan Singer / MyDD:

DNC to File FEC Complaint Against McCain Campaign — John McCain's attempted politically motivated gaming of the public financing system is already drawing the attention of the Federal Elections Commisssion, with the chairman of the FEC firing off a letter to McCain's presidential campaign asking …

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!

Thomas Beaumont / Des Moines Register:

Obama, not Clinton, favored over McCain — Whether Iowa turns red or blue in the fall presidential election may have a lot to do with which Democrat is on the ballot against Republican John McCain, according to a new Iowa Poll by The Des Moines Register. — Barack Obama would carry Iowa …

Discussion: The Washington Note and The Page

William Kern / The Moderate Voice:

Obama Assassination ‘Would Leave Road Paved for McCain’ ... One of the most disturbing questions that Barack Obama's candidacy raises is this: What if he were murdered? If Barack Obama won the Democratic nomination and was gunned down before November, what effect would this have on the presidential race?

Discussion: PoliGazette

Francisco Martín Moreno / WORLDMEETS.US:
Obama Assassination ‘Would Leave Road Paved for McCain’ ...

Discussion: Macsmind

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire:

Dispatch from Maryland — Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton, spoke at St. Mary's college in Maryland last week and offered a very frank assessment of the state of the Clinton campaign. A Political Wire reader emails a summary:

Discussion: Don Singleton, Oliver Willis, Jules Crittenden, CNN and Liberal Values