NADER CHOOSES CAMEJO

Story.

Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader selected longtime Green Party activist Peter Camejo to be his running mate on Monday, a move sure to boost his chances of winning the Green Party's endorsement this week and its access to ballot lines in 22 states and the District of Columbia.

Camejo, an investment adviser from Folsom, Calif., had been one of two leading contenders for the Green Party's presidential nomination.

The announcement came in advance of the Green Party convention beginning Wednesday in Milwaukee. Nader, who ran as the Green Party candidate in 2000, is not seeking the party's nomination but he has pursued an endorsement from the third party.

"Camejo shares my concerns for economic and social justice as well as the urgent need to protect our environment," Nader said in a statement before introducing him at an afternoon news conference.

One Green Party leader said a Nader-Camejo ticket would have a very strong chance of winning the party's endorsement.

"This is an opportunity for Nader to make an overture to the party membership," said Ben Manski, one of five co-chairs of the Green Party. "I think it certainly would put him much more in the running but not a guarantee."

Dammit, I really like Peter Camejo. His performance in the California recall debates was very impressive, even though most of the other debating candidates treated him like he was Gary Coleman or the porn star, I forget her name.

If Nader does get the Green endorsement after the Camejo selection, that will certainly help his chances at ballot access in a whole slew of states, which is at least better than having to piggyback on extreme right-wing petitions.

As someone who first and foremost wants Bush gone, perhaps this news is distressing me more than it should. I live in California, and while Peter Camejo is a pretty well-known figure here, this does not hold as much in the rest of the country. To them, perhaps he's just another Admiral Stockdale.

Right about here is the point in every Nader post where I ponder whether or not I should go into some long thing about third parties, but this time I shall resist that urge.