[lbo-talk] cruise update: the Ralph angle

[Doug Henwood]

Man, is Ralph Nader odd up close. His funereal demeanor almost never  
lifts except when he's laughing at his own occasional jokes. The  
laughter of children leaves him uncharmed. He had some factotum  
running around announcing when he'd be holding audiences - he'd come  
to tables in the bar at 10:30 and disclose that Ralph would be  
speaking in the library in 10 minutes - when almost everyone was  
interested in chatting and having a nightcap. He refused to come to a  
speakers' dinner last night because the restaurant would be too loud  
to have a "substantive" exchange - by which I suppose he meant listen  
to Ralph hold forth, because we were all having quite pleasant and  
intelligent conversations. Instead he stayed on the ship. One of the  
people who'd joined him for a bit coughed, and Ralph, alarmed, asked  
if she had a cold. She said she had a little one, so Ralph demanded  
she re-seat herself on the other side of the table and never looked  
up for the rest of the time she was there. This confirms my suspicion  
that his trade obsession really is at base an anxiety about  
contamination by foreign pathogens. He's a very smart guy, and has  
done some admirable things in his life, but is really kind of a dick.

Doug