A friend of mine was Nader's running mate, Winona LaDuke. She is from Minnesota, knows him very well, and says essentially what Todd Purdum of the NY Times said about Nader on Washington Week on Friday night. That he has a great sense of humor, that he is brilliant, he isn't an egomaniac at all, but is a truly unique individual. She also said he is quite humble for a lawyer. ;-)

Winona has remained mum about Nader's run this year so far, and I haven't spoken with her in over a year (she lives in northern MN and travels a lot). But she has nothing but wonderful things to say about Nader. So I guess I'll go with the opinion of someone who knows him well that I know personally, rather than go by what someone on the internet who may well have an ax to grind, and who doesn't appear to have known Nader at all in recent years, says about him.

I really don't think anyone can say that Nader is irrelevant. The NY Times doesn't interview irrelevant presidential candidates. To try and compare Nader to Gus Hall, is just plain silly, or the person making the comparison is attempting to smear Nader through guilt by association.