What happened last November in Florida diverted attention from Ralph Nader's part in the outcome of the Presidential election. In Florida itself, where every vote mattered (I won't say counted), he garnered 100,000 of them. And in New Hampshire, the only state in the North-East that Gore failed to carry - a state whose three electoral votes would have made him President even without Florida - Nader's vote comfortably exceeded Bush's margin of victory. Green Party supporters told pollsters that, in the absence of Nader, they would have voted overwhelmingly for Gore (or not at all). It was thus voting decisions by the most environmentally conscious part of the electorate that put one former oilman in the White House, made another Vice-President, and led to a Cabinet that generously represents the interests of mining, logging, chemicals and agribusiness.

LRB 7 June 2001 | PDF Download