Back in the olden days of the 2000 election, there was a popular saying among Democrats: “A vote for Nader is a vote for Bush.” Nader supporters—many of whom were my hometown friends—countered that with the slogan: “A vote for Nader is a vote for Nader.”

Either way you sliced it, the unique circumstances of the Bush-Gore faceoff had turned Independent presidential candidate, Ralph Nader, into a household name.

Now, eight years later, not many people are aware that Nader is running again on the independent ticket, and most of those who do know, don’t care. Nader has become a smybol of sorts in American electoral politics. He represents idealism, the dream of a multi-partisan government, and foolishness.

By 2004, Nader’s support went from three percent of the vote to .03 percent and with that, his role in presidential elections have shifted. Even a few months ago during the primary [www.salon.com] season, Republicans were confident that Nader’s entry into the race could only boost their chances of winning.

But with early voting well underway in key swing state like Florida and Ohio, and with six days to go until Election Day, polls [www.latimes.com] are showing that Nader will not have an impact on the outcome.

Yet the 2000 controversy has made many Democrats angry and skeptical at Nader’s candidacy. As a result of that, and the relatively insigificant impact he is forecasted to have on on the outcome of the election this year, Nader’s camp is claiming [thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com] that the independent candidate may even take votes from McCain. Yet contradicting the campaign’s message to the media, a Nader spokesman told The New York Times [thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com] that the Nader camp is expecting the election to be a landslide for Obama, and that it will encourage liberal voters to vote for Nader.

Let’s just hope he doesn’t screw this one up.

–Jamie Wong