I could have stood in line, where he was autographing his latest at Books on the Square today, but I would only have rebuked him. Since he is reputed to be a hard-headed man, I didn’t think I could change his mind — smarter people than I have failed to shake his certainty. Seven years ago, Ralph Nader had more power in American politics than any one person should have. With an American public so hypnotized, misled, or hopeless that only about 40% of us vote, some of the most committed and informed voters were Greens. In previous elections I voted for Nader too, but it was a symbolic act. Green Party was never going to win a national election, even for local offices it was a long shot. Now in 2000 we had a choice between Al Gore and that grinning frat boy, George Bush. Al Gore won, and even a percentage of the Green Party votes would have sealed that victory and put it beyond the reach of the Republican Party to steal the election.

In the final days, when it was clear the election was too close to call, Ralph Nader kept insisting that there was no difference between the Democratic and Republican parties. History shows otherwise. Al Gore would not have ignored a memo titled ‘Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.’ If he had not been able to prevent the 9/11 attack he would not have responded by invading a country that had not attacked us. A Gore administration wouldn’t be staffed by incompetent cronies. Al Gore wouldn’t have vacationed while New Orleans drowned, as much in bureaucracy as in hurricane waters.

This November when the Democrats took the House and Senate you could hear a change in tone on the news. We were a two-party system again. Not six months later investigations are underway, a vote is up on an exit plan for the Iraq war, the frat boy is not getting a blank check from a rubber-stamp Congress anymore.

Ralph Nader made his reputation on integrity, on principles, on speaking truth to power. It’s not fair that things turned out the way they did, but we are worse off because he gained enough power to swing the vote, and was not enough of a politician to see the strategy. He helped put George Bush in office, to the great detriment of our country.

I’m a Unitarian, and we don’t do righteous. We should try to be good, but it’s dangerous to be Good, and it’s folly to be God.