Nader on 2012: Sadly, Obama’s a Shoo-In

Ralph Nader isn’t holding his breath waiting for President Obama to go down in flames Jimmy Carter-style. “The stars are aligned” for Obama’s reelection, Nader writes in a Bloomberg op-ed. Here’s why:

• The Republican primary field is littered with hardcore ideologues. “Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Donald Trump and others might as well be on the Democratic National Committee payroll,” Nader quips.

• Democrats will use Paul Ryan’s “reverse Robin Hood plan” to stoke outrage amongst their supporters.
• Republican attacks on unions in places like Wisconsin and Ohio aren’t going to play well with swing voters and Reagan Democrats.
• Big corporations should be in Obama’s corner: After all, he’s bailed out the auto industry, delivered guaranteed customers to health insurers, and kept his hands off their subsidies. Jeffrey Immelt will vouch for his character.
• No one seems willing to challenge Obama in a primary—though Nader is working on it. In an interview with Politico yesterday, Nader said that he’s trying to recruit candidates to oppose Obama, in a bid to pull him to the left. And Nader promises he won’t be one of them. “This isn’t like a third-party or independent candidacy,” he said. These candidates will “support Obama, but want him to keep his 2008 promises.”

(More Ralph Nader stories.)