Can Ralph Nader Play the Role of Spolier in the 2008 Presidential Election?

As if the Presidential race this year was not muddy enough already, consumer advocate Ralph Nader has just decided to throw his hat into the ring again this year. Nader, who at 74 is even older than 72 year-old Republican candidate John McCain, came to national prominence as a warrior for the consumer in the 1960's, and has since made a few runs at the White House.

Though Nader doesn't see himself playing a significant role in the race, some political analysis feel that he could have the same effect he had in the 2000 election, where it is claimed that he took enough votes away from former Vice President Al Gore in Florida to tilt the elections towards President Bush. Could history repeat itself this year, especially in light of the vicious fight that Clinton and Obama find themselves in? As a Republican voter, I could only hope so.

Traditionally it would seem that most third party Presidential nominees play the role of the spoiler in a national election. Like Nader in 2000, past third party nominees like John Anderson in 1976, seemed to have played a similar role in helping to decide a national election. In 1980, Anderson's entry into the race as an Independent helped Ronald Regan secure a victory over incumbent president Jimmy Carter. Anderson thus gained a bit of notoriety as a poster boy for the spoiler roll in a presidential election. Though nowhere close to receiving the number of votes of the other two top candidates, Anderson nevertheless received over 6 million votes, or roughly 7% of the votes in the election, making him one of the most successful third party candidate in modern US history.

If Anderson helped pioneered the role of third party candidate in modern day America, in 1992 Ross Perot almost perfected it. Perot who took in votes from a population who most likely had become disenchanted with the political Establishment, ended up gaining almost 19% of the popular votes that year. In the process, Perot drew away support from both candidates, though in the end he took away a higher percentage of votes from the conservative side, which may have contributed to President Clinton's victory that year.