This Sunday, independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader brings his egocentric campaign to Athens. Nader will do a local meet and greet before signing copies of his latest book, Crashing the Party.
Liberal college towns like Athens have always been a base of Nader's, who preaches about the evils of money in politics and the power of huge corporations. But the man on this campaign trail isn't the Nader many of the country's most liberal and idealistic voters came to know and love. This Nader has let his ego lead him off the noble path.
In 2000, Nader's main goal was to win 5 percent of the vote and assure the Green party a spot on the 2004 ballot. Nader was trying to bring unique ideas to the forefront and offer an alternative perspective to voters.
This go-round has been quite different. Nader was spurned by the party he had lead to the national stage as the Greens choose a candidate, David Cobb, with little name recognition who would not hurt presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry. But Nader, not content to let go of the limelight, has shuffled on as an independent.
But his motto ought to be do as I say
not as I do. Nader has accepted help from those who he has long criticized -Republicans. It is their money, their same big-business influence he has long decried, that has helped him garner the petition signatures needed to be on the ballot in several key swing states, including Ohio. On top of that, long a critic of mega-media conglomerates, his book is financed by billionaire Rupert Murdoch, who owns Fox and the cable news network FOXNews.
The nobility of running as a third party candidate fighting to bring his issues to a national stage has been traded in for a narcissistic run through the campaign trail's media circuit.
Making his campaign even sadder is the fact that Republicans and Democrats alike have acknowledged him as nothing more than a political pawn. Republican leadership and conservative organizations have supported his run, saying they do it with the sole purpose of stealing votes from Kerry.
But the Democrats, given a chance to take the high road and defeat Nader on the issues, have again chosen to roll in the mud. Some of their tactics have included taking court action in some states, successfully in Arizona, to have Nader removed from the ballot.
Nader's candidacy has only served to bring out the worst in all the presidential players.
Downward spirals
Financial responsibility is paramount for any person who lives within society. Not adhering to a balanced budget is considered a flaw by many; one that often causes a person to be characterized as frivolous or irresponsible. Yet for those that run this country such a flaw is not a taboo.
The federal deficit climbed to a record-high this year -$422 billion -a trend that has been in effect for the last four years. This news, coupled with recent comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan claiming current spending is unsustainable and that medicare and social security might have to be cut in the future, highlights the harsh realities of deficit spending.
Toward the end of the last administration the nation enjoyed a significant budget surplus, which is a major reason that this record level of deficit is so disturbing. It would be wrong to merely cry foul and blame the current administration for this monstrous number because there have been extenuating circumstances that have required a higher level of spending than originally was anticipated, such as the Iraq War and Sept. 11.
Without adherence to political agendas, this problem needs to be addressed. The fiscal policy that the nation is under might have worked if it were not for unanticipated events, but the mistake of those in power is that the policy has not been changed to fit the new circumstances. Between the heightened spending and the tax cuts, the U.S. government has been spending money that it could never have hoped to recover. This policy of not taxing enough, and spending at high levels is irresponsible and a direct contradiction of conservative ideals when it comes to government spending.
In addition, because the record deficit fell short of original estimates -by $50 billion-Republicans seemingly have used the not-so-bad-news as a victory of the party. Both the attempted spin and deficit levels are unacceptable and need to be addressed. Whether a Republican or Democratic president is elected, this deficit should be a top priority before it spins out of control. 17
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