Nader on Hardball

I wish I had seen this: Ralph Nader on Hardball. This is by no means an endorsement of Nader (yet), but I really like a lot of what he said.

Take this bit of dialog for example [added emphasis is mine]:

MATTHEWS:  It will be the first house you‘ve ever lived in since you were a kid.  You live in an apartment.  You don‘t have a car.  You‘re not married.  You live a life that‘s about as responsible as what‘s on the movies tonight.  I mean, that‘s all you have to worry about. 

And you‘re going to be president of the United States, and you‘re knocking President Bush for not being mature enough?

NADER:  Chris, no wonder they parody you on “SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE.”

First - I love Nader's response. But I have to give a pleasant little "fuck you!" to Chris Matthews here. I live in an apartment, I don't have a car, and I'm not married. What does owning a house and driving a car have to do with maturity?

I also like this bit of dialog [which comes right before the bit I just quoted]:

NADER:  I know.  Listen.  Wait a minute, listen.  Wait a minute.  I‘ve done a lot to make cars safer and more fuel efficient and less polluting. 

MATTHEWS:  Which car is safe enough for you to drive?

NADER:  A Volvo is a good car. 

MATTHEWS:  So you don‘t mind international trade?

NADER:  It‘s owned by Ford. 

MATTHEWS:  OK.  That‘s not right.  You don‘t have a problem with foreign cars?  Just American cars?

NADER:  No.  There are some good American cars. 

MATTHEWS:  Why don‘t you own one?

NADER:  I don‘t need one.  I don‘t live in the suburbs.  Why should I spend my time looking for a parking space and adding to the fumes that the people breathe? 

A-bloody-men! I heartily agree. Riding my bike in the summertime on busy city streets is one quick reminder of how bad those fumes can get. And in winter time, the Salt Lake (and neighboring) valleys get stuck in inversions. During an inversion, all of the pollutants - primarily from cars - are trapped in the valley. We had many days here last month when it was considered hazardous to jog outside, the air was so bad. I remember having to climb a hill on the way home one year during an inversion, and how sick I felt by the time I got to the top. At sidewalk cafe's in this country, smokers are being chastised for smoking outside, while cars and trucks stream by on the street, each one coughing out bits of toxic smoke. Car exhaust can actually kill you pretty quickly in a closed environment, much more than second hand smoke. Yet - the cars are OK. I don't really have anything against cars, but for the most part, I've been able to get by just fine without one. I live close to where I work, close to where I can buy groceries, and very close to a decent mass transit system [that I can even use to go skiing]. How is it immature of me not to spend two to four hours a day in traffic getting to and from work, adding to my financial burden and subtracting from air quality?