I'm Going to Ralph

When I went to see Fahrenheit 9/11, there was a kid in line to get into the movie collecting signatures.  He was a sort of scrawny funny looking kid.  I asked him what the petition was for and he told me:

"I'm collecting thignatures to get Ralph Nader on the ballot for prethident."

I genuinely felt sorry for the guy.  I mean, he was all alone, he had been dealt a rough hand with the speech impediment and all, and he was fighting a cause that had no plausible purpose.  I didn't sign or anything, but I did feel some pity for him.

No more.

Nader got 48,400 signatures on his petition to be put on the ballot in Michigan.  43,000 of those were from Michigan Republicans.  Sorry, kid.  But you can go Cheney yourself.

I'm tired of Nader.  It is sad and embarrassing that his legacy will now be twofold: (1) groundbreaking consumer advocate; and (2) egomaniacal tool of the Republican party. 

I think Mr. Burns said it best: 

On a 2002 episode of The Simpsons, the villainous Mr. Burns, presiding over a meeting of the Springfield Republican Party, asks, "What act of unmitigated evil should the Republican Party undertake this week?"

Nader, sitting to Burns' left, raises his hand like an anxious kid in class.

"You've already done enough, Nader," Mr. Burns replies.