And the Winner in the Ralph Nader Veepstakes is...

By Rick Moran

Matt Gonzalez, come on down! You've been chosen as Ralph Nader's running mate!

Just who, you might ask, is Matt Gonzalez?

Gonzalez, Nader said, is "unwavering in his principles and committed to his politics with clear eloquence and humane logic."

"He's demonstrated - through his legal, civic, and political career - his steadfast commitment to the values and directions that have characterized my work and hopes for our country and its role in the world,"

Nader added Gonzalez served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors until 2005 and also ran for mayor against current mayor Gavin Newsom in 2003, losing 53 to 47 percent.

He said, "I have no illusions about what is happening here today. I understand what stands before us. But let me also say, I have never run in a political contest with the idea that it couldn't be won." "There are those that are going to say that what we doing is going to take votes from other candidates," Gonzalez added.

"There is nothing that we can do that can force anybody to vote for us but we very much want the opposite not to be true. That anybody who wants to vote for us should not be forced to vote for other candidates."

Yes, but is he really Vice Presidential material?

I don't know how confident I'd be if Gonzalez had to take over for President Nader in the event of some tragic circumstance. But that's not the point, of course, The point is "balance." Nader needs to balance out the fact that he's a kook with someone who actually has run some kind of governmental entity in his life.

We here at AT wish the Nader/Gonzalez ticket all the best in taking as many Democratic votes away from Barack Obama as is possible.

Hat Tip: Rich Baehr