I have met Ralph Nader on a number of occasions, and am happy to speak about him. He first came to fame for exposing various flaws in American automobiles, during which he was followed and harassed by auto company detectives and thugs. He used his fame and tireless activities to set up groups of "Nader's Raiders" -- young people and young professionals to examine various practices of corporate and government malfeasance. He has been totally incorruptible, which is why he is hated (though some of his recent fundraising has received attention). He lives a very simple life style. He first ran for the Presidency 4 years ago, and for some reason did not take it seriously -- maybe because the Green Party was such a mess. This time he decided to take it seriously, and has been frozen out of the prime time debates (run by the two major parties, etc.).
He is an odd character: very old fashioned, believes in citizens, democracy, free speech, a fine speaker. I heard him once in Chataqua where I was also giving a speech, and he spent the entire speech assaulting the audience, made up of rich liberals. They were completely shocked, and got angrier and angrier at him, but when he ended they gave him a standing ovation just because he was so honest. A great American, I think (I am a Canadian). If he was President, they would kill him on day one.
yours, Peter T.