>(Cf. Norman Soloman reports that, in 1996, Nader "opted to cap his
>campaign expenditures at $5,000" ["News That Still Goes Unreported:
>"Dollars Per Vote," <http://www.fair.org/media-beat/980604.html>]
>and received "685,128 votes nationwide," spending only "seven-tenths
>of a penny per vote" ["Bumpy Media Road For A Wellstone Presidential
>Drive," <http://www.fair.org/media-beat/980716.html>] -- our
>Consumer Advocate sure knows how to get his money's worth).
What the hell do 685,128 votes mean in a country of nearly 300 million?
Nader barely ran in 1996 - it was a joke. I tried to get him on my radio show for an interview. There was no direct way to call the campaign - you had to call some number and wait for a call back, after various unspecified intercessions. We'd arranged an interview, set a date and time, and come the afternoon of the broadcast, I couldn't get a hold of Ralph to set up the details. Finally, two hours after the program, they called my home number, wondering when the interview was. It's not like Ralph had a heavy media schedule at the time, either.
Doug