Nader's Noblesse Oblige

You know, I don't usually fume lately even when watching Senate Republicans on C-SPAN. But Nader's gaffe [blissful ignorance] today makes me mad in the way I cannot even put to words.

Here is part of Nader's statement, to give a sense of it (although I'm sure whoever reads this post is well aware of his words already):

There's only one thing different about Barack Obama when it comes to being a Democratic presidential candidate. He's half African-American...Whether that will make any difference, I don't know. I haven't heard him have a strong crackdown on economic exploitation in the ghettos. Payday loans, predatory lending, asbestos, lead. What's keeping him from doing that? Is it because he wants to talk white? He doesn't want to appear like Jesse Jackson? We'll see all that play out in the next few months and if he gets elected afterwards.

I mean, first of all, the number one thing that a black American politician aspiring to the presidency should be is to candidly describe the plight of the poor, especially in the inner cities and the rural areas, and have a very detailed platform about how the poor is going to be defended by the law, is going to be protected by the law, and is going to be liberated by the law.

So, Matthew Yglesias responds to this all very well. He adds good links to show how Obama has talked specifically about each of Nader's uninformed quips.

It's about time Nader's spoken words truly reflected the reputation he's earned.