On today's (Monday's) Democracy Now they play part of FDR's inaugural speech during the Depression. Compare with Obama's zero leadership on the economic situation and with what Nader would be saying if he were in the debates.
yeah nader should be in the debates. that debate friday was awful. all rhetoric, no substance. i really liked when nader et al. called out the conservative rep when she claimed that paulson was "clearly brilliant."
--A sentiment shared by The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), which has set as the arbitrary criterion a candidate must reach before being invited to its debates at 15% of the national polls.
How can a third party ever meet such a high standard when the CPD "was established in 1987 by the Democratic and Republican parties to establish the way that debates between candidates for President of the United States are run. The Commission is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) entity as defined by Federal US tax laws, whose debates are sponsored by private contributions from foundations and corporations. . . . The Commission has moderated the 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004 debates. Prior to this, the League of Women Voters moderated the 1976, 1980, 1984 debates" (Wikipedia).
So the Commission was not always and should not be the only way to frame a debate. This is why Nader proposed a Google/YouTube debate in New Orleans. And though McCain agreed, Obama refused.
Who better to speak about corporate corruption than Nader, and where better than at the corporate-sponsored presidential debates?
Added to that problem is this, from the Nader campaign:
"In a recent WSJ/NBC national poll, Ralph Nader pulls 5 percent.
Contrast that to the most recent Gallup national poll, where Nader polls a fraction of one percent.
Why the big difference?
Answer: Gallup, the 800-pound gorilla of the polling world, doesn't list Ralph Nader as one of the Presidential candidates in the primary polling question.
Are you kidding me?
No.
We are not kidding you.
And guess who the Commission on Presidential Debates depends on to do its polling to see which Presidential candidates get to debate before tens of millions of Americans tonight in Nashville?
You guessed it: Gallup.
I called Frank Newport. (pictured above)
Newport is the editor-in-chief at Gallup.
I asked Newport:
Is there an objective standard you use to keep Ralph off your primary polling question?
'No,' Newport said.
'We use our internal judgment to decide.'
Whoa!
Gallup's 'internal judgment' keeps Ralph Nader out of their polling.
So, I tried again.
Any ballpark levels of support Gallup looks to as a threshold?
'No,' Newport said.
Again, it was just subject to unidentified 'internal judgment criteria.'"
5 comments:
great insight by nader. he belongs in the debates. i wish he was the voice of the democratic party, as maher said.
On today's (Monday's) Democracy Now they play part of FDR's inaugural speech during the Depression. Compare with Obama's zero leadership on the economic situation and with what Nader would be saying if he were in the debates.
yeah nader should be in the debates. that debate friday was awful. all rhetoric, no substance. i really liked when nader et al. called out the conservative rep when she claimed that paulson was "clearly brilliant."
"but Nader himself does not."
--A sentiment shared by The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), which has set as the arbitrary criterion a candidate must reach before being invited to its debates at 15% of the national polls.
How can a third party ever meet such a high standard when the CPD "was established in 1987 by the Democratic and Republican parties to establish the way that debates between candidates for President of the United States are run. The Commission is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) entity as defined by Federal US tax laws, whose debates are sponsored by private contributions from foundations and corporations. . . . The Commission has moderated the 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004 debates. Prior to this, the League of Women Voters moderated the 1976, 1980, 1984 debates" (Wikipedia).
So the Commission was not always and should not be the only way to frame a debate. This is why Nader proposed a Google/YouTube debate in New Orleans. And though McCain agreed, Obama refused.
Who better to speak about corporate corruption than Nader, and where better than at the corporate-sponsored presidential debates?
Added to that problem is this, from the Nader campaign:
"In a recent WSJ/NBC national poll, Ralph Nader pulls 5 percent.
Contrast that to the most recent Gallup national poll, where Nader polls a fraction of one percent.
Why the big difference?
Answer: Gallup, the 800-pound gorilla of the polling world, doesn't list Ralph Nader as one of the Presidential candidates in the primary polling question.
Are you kidding me?
No.
We are not kidding you.
And guess who the Commission on Presidential Debates depends on to do its polling to see which Presidential candidates get to debate before tens of millions of Americans tonight in Nashville?
You guessed it: Gallup.
I called Frank Newport. (pictured above)
Newport is the editor-in-chief at Gallup.
I asked Newport:
Is there an objective standard you use to keep Ralph off your primary polling question?
'No,' Newport said.
'We use our internal judgment to decide.'
Whoa!
Gallup's 'internal judgment' keeps Ralph Nader out of their polling.
So, I tried again.
Any ballpark levels of support Gallup looks to as a threshold?
'No,' Newport said.
Again, it was just subject to unidentified 'internal judgment criteria.'"
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