US activist Nader mulls independent White House bid

52 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Veteran political activist and consumer champion Ralph Nader, blamed by the Democrats for costing them the tight 2000 elections, said Wednesday he was mulling a 2008 bid for the White House.

He told AFP that he had launched a presidential exploratory committee "to test the waters to see if we can get enough contributions and resources, such as skilled staff" to run as an independent candidate.

"There has to be a decision within about a month," Nader said, adding that he had decided to jump into the fray after being disappointed by the platforms of the leading Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

His new website (www.naderexplore08.org) launched on Wednesday urges people to "join with us to help mobilize your fellow citizens and discipline the corporate crooks and lobbyists and their corporate candidates."

Nader told AFP he wanted to fight "the injustices, deprivations and insolutions that the candidates are ignoring" such as failing to address the need for a living wage, health care for all and the "enormous, bloated, wasteful military budget."

But any bid by the 73-year-old Nader, who ran as an independent in four previous presidential elections -- 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004 -- is likely to cause a stir among Democrats.

Democrats blame Nader for costing Al Gore the 2000 election, who was narrowly beaten in Florida by George W. Bush in a vote count finally decided by the Supreme Court.

But Nader vehemently rejected the title of "spoiler."

"It is a title that is never applied to a Democrat or a Republican. It is only applied to a third party candidate," he said.

"They say 'spoiler.' I say 'political bigot.' If you have equal rights then you have the right to run for election," he said.

"We are committed to more voices and more choices, so that everyone can be heard."