WHAT, EXACTLY, DID OUR COUNTRY DESERVE?

Ralph Nader is 74, and he has definitely proved himself to be unsafe at any speed.

Once again, this year, Mr. Nader mounted an unsuccessful third party run for the Presidency. This time, only about one half of one percent of the voting public cast their ballots for him. This time, he did no damage.

Sadly, that was not the case 8 years ago when Nader’s votes may have shifted the win in a couple of states from Gore to Bush. Had those states gone Democratic, then Florida would not have mattered.

When asked to comment on the potential of a Bush Presidency in the event a scenario like the one I described occurred, Nader said that the country would then get exactly what it deserves. The question arises; what, exactly, did OUR COUNTRY deserve?

Did the country deserve the second worst economic disaster in its history?

Did over 4,000 Americans deserve to die in a war that is being fought purely for profit?

Did the survivors of September 11 and their families deserve to have their loved ones’ memories besmirched by an inability to capture the person responsible for those deaths?

Did our children deserve an unfunded educational mandate that relies more on teaching for the test than on educating?

Did veterans, poor children and the elderly deserve to have their benefits gutted?

No, nobody deserved what the Bush Administration did to this country. That would be obvious to anyone but Ralph Nader. To him, it was just fodder to feed his massive ego. To him it was justification for a run for the White House that he could not possibly win.

Long ago, Ralph Nader was a hero. Now, he is a fool. The time has come for him to retire back to Michigan, or wherever else he might want to go. The time has come for Ralph Nader to never speak in public again. Too much was at stake this year to risk another incident of this egomaniac causing the country to install a new Republican administration in Washington. Fortunately, this time that didn’t happen, but it could have.

Go away, Ralph. Your time has passed, and we would be far better off as a country if you came to understand that and left us alone.

HENRY A. HONIG – THE PUNDIT