Ralph Nader; Playing the Spoiler Again.(Interview)

Byline: Michael Hastings

In the famously close U.S. Presidential election of November 2000, Ralph Nader ran as the candidate for the Green Party. Frustrated Democrats and liberals blamed him for taking votes away from Al Gore and ushering George W. Bush into the White House. Undaunted, the 70 year-old consumer activist is running yet again. "The world is not doing very well these days," he laments, vowing to push 30 key social issues not being addressed by either Republicans or Democrats. He isn't trolling for liberal votes this time, however; he's targeting conservatives "furious" at the Bush administration--as well as the "100 million Americans who don't vote." Is it all just wishful thinking? Journalists, including NEWSWEEK's Michael Hastings, spoke with Nader during a campaign stop in New York. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: How's it going?

Nader: OK. We're ahead of where we were last time. Some polls have us at 7 percent.

You're famously stubborn, especially in your dealings with Big Business. What makes you think that would be a virtue in the Oval Office?

It's only stubbornness in terms of the context of surrender. I've often said, why should you compromise when you're up against corporations that aren't forced to compromise anything? You never get near what you're asking for, even though a lot of things we asked for in the old days are now considered commonplace.

You've said Democrats and Republicans are indistinguishable, that they offer no real choice. Yet polls show the country is polarized.