Refusing to do any of the work to build up third party infrastructure nationally, Ralph Nader has a bit of sour grapes whine, and calls Obama an "Uncle Tom".

It's really bad when Fox News is classier than a national figure like Ralph Nader. Good on Shepard Smith.

*Gasp* A politician fudging the facts to make himself look better? What will they think of next?

Bill Scher at Liberal Oasis:

The NY Times today quotes a McCain campaign adviser defending the campaign's performance because even though "the Republican Party brand is very, very badly damaged, ... Senator McCain is running even or ahead of Senator Obama in most national polls."

That is a false statement, which the Times did not correct.

I recently penned an op-ed for last Friday's Omaha World-Herald about why the attacks on Obama have failed to derail his path to the nomination, and failed to deny him a clear lead against Sen. John McCain (Full op-ed below).

I led with the observation, "He beats Sen. John McCain in seven of eight major polls taken this month, with margins mostly between 5 and 7 points, and the most recent survey showing a 10-point lead."

That assertion was based on leads reported in the following polls taken in May:

CBS/NY Times: Obama, 11 points
USA Today/Gallup: McCain, 1 point
Ipsos: Obama, 4 points
LA Times/Bloomberg: Obama, 6 points
NPR: Obama, 5 points
Quinnipiac: Obama, 7 points
ABC/Washington Post: Obama, 7 points
Reuters/Zogby (including Ralph Nader & Bob Barr): Obama, 10 points

A few polls have been released since I wrote my oped:

GW-Battleground poll: Obama, 2 points
Investor's Business Daily: Obama, 11 points
Newsweek: Tie

These May polls do not show that "Senator McCain is running even or ahead of Senator Obama in most national polls." They show that the vast majority of national polls show Obama ahead.

It's quite obvious to anyone paying attention that our two party system just isn't working. I'd love to see a viable third (and fourth and fifth) party to help shake up our electoral process, although I hesitate to push the concept right now as I simply do not trust the Republicans to not manipulate the situation to their advantage and we'd be back where we were in 2000--except with the country in far worse condition.

However, the never-to-be-daunted Ralph Nader is out there again and pushing for third party candidates.

  MSNBC: (Video available on the site)

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg could be the first modern independent candidate to break the stranglehold the two major parties have on the White House, two-time candidate Ralph Nader said Thursday.

Nader predicted in an interview on MSNBC's "Hardball" that Bloomberg would join the race and would immediately start out with the support of at least 15 percent of voters.[..]

At first blush, Nader said, Bloomberg looks pretty good, marrying traditional Democratic positions with hard-headed Republican-style problem-solving.

"I think he's offering a case-by-case judgment," Nader said. "That's the one thing about Bloomberg I like. He doesn't prejudge everything ideologically. He's very problem-oriented. Post-Katrina I don't think would have happened if he was in charge."

But Bloomberg isn't sensitive enough to free speech and economic justice, said Nader, who said that if no candidate emerged to address his progressive, labor-first ideals, he would jump into the race himself. He said he would make a decision "in the fall."

Bush-Kerry Race Tied As RNC Bounce Fades, New IBD Survey Shows

BY IBD STAFF

INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY

A new IBD/TIPP poll put President Bush and Sen. John Kerry in a dead heat, suggesting Bush's post-convention bounce is quickly disappearing.

In IBD/TIPP's first poll of likely voters, conducted Sept. 7-12, both men garnered 47% in a two-man race and 46% in a three-way race. In the latter scenario, independent Ralph Nader would take just 3% of the vote.

Among registered voters, Kerry holds a two-point edge over Bush, with or without Nader, the poll found.

Nader Crashes the GOP's Bash. Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader is crashing the Republican National Convention, stopping by Madison Square Garden, giving a flurry of media interviews and offering a running critique of nearly every major policy initiative of the Bush administration. By By Brian Faler. [washingtonpost.com - Politics]

The Return of Katherine Harris

very state has an obligation to run elections that are not only fair, but also appear fair to the average voter. After the debacle of 2000, Florida's officials should understand this better than anyone. But its top elections officer, Glenda Hood, is acting in ways that create a strong impression that she is manipulating the rules to help re-elect her boss's brother. After her maneuvers this week to try to put Ralph Nader on the ballot, she cannot be trusted to run an impartial election.

In Florida's 2000 election mess, Katherine Harris served simultaneously as Florida's secretary of state and as co-chairwoman of the state's Bush-Cheney campaign committee. In her official capacity, she repeatedly took actions that favored the campaign. This year has turned out to be more of the same. When Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Ms. Hood as secretary of state, he chose someone with a history of partisanship, as a Republican officeholder and as a Bush-Cheney elector in 2000. Now Ms. Hood's politics appear to be influencing her election duties.

She recently conducted a highly suspect voting-roll purge of felons. The voters who were to be taken off the list included more than 22,000 African-Americans, who generally vote heavily Democratic, but just 61 Hispanics, who tend to favor Republicans in Florida. She was forced to scrap the list.

In last month's primary, some people without photo identification were turned away without being told that they could vote if they signed affidavits affirming their identities. After the same thing happened in South Dakota this year, the Board of Elections there told every polling place to post signs advising people of their rights. Ms. Hood's office insists that voters need not be told of the affidavit option. Voter ID is often a partisan issue because poor people and members of other groups that are less likely to have identification often vote Democratic.

Most recently, Ms. Hood has played a suspect role in helping Mr. Nader get on Florida's ballot, where he would be likely to weaken John Kerry. A court has ruled against Mr. Nader's claim to have met the requirements to be on the ballot...read on