Well the title of this post is misleading, because unlike the Yahoo people want you to think, there will not be a major Nader factor this time around.

He might poll high (relatively), but what a person says to a robocall and which lever (or touch screen area) they pull (press) in November are two completely different things. Barring a miracle, Nader will get no more than 2 percent this time around, probably much less than that. He will not have an effect on this election, as some people worry. Should we just ignore him then? No, actually. A big reason that Nader will not be a factor is because quite a few of his supporters hate GW more than they love ol' Ralph, as opposed to like Kerry more than Ralph. This translates into cold feet in November, but in the meantime, we should embrace some of his ideas that wouldn't completely kill the Clintonism that John Kerry is trying to channel, such as a bigger hike in the minimum wage. People by and large support this measure, and John Kerry could run with it. This, and any number of issues that Kerry and Nader already agree on could be pushed from Kerry, making the Nader break vote less guilty, and shoring up the Democratic base in the mean time.

Kerry's main problem with these people is not on the issues, it is an image problem. I'll admit, back in the day when I was a rabid Deaniac, I thought Kerry was a slimeball. I think there are quite a few people that still feel that way, and while most will hold their nose and vote for him anyway, the people that are disenfranchised will probably have more of an effect than Nader himself. I did my research, followed Kerry stories, looked at his record, heard him speak, and began to replace my Bush hate with Kerry love. This man will be a great President, the problem is convincing the base of that fact.

This really isn't a choice between two evils, as some would seem to believe. If John Kerry's record ran with John Edwards personality and Howard Dean's fire, the polls would be something like 90-10. While it's a shame that personality matters that much more than actual issues for someone running a powerful country, it is the awful truth. I'm not real worried anyway, as Bush has been sinking himself lately while Kerry waits in the wings, but I would love to see the people on my side be more proud of their candidate. He really is a good guy.