Nader Running for President

In an election year of unexpected twists, here's another one: Consumer advocate Ralph Nader says he's launching another run for the White House as a third-party, independent candidate.

Nader made his announcement Sunday morning to Tim Russert on NBC's "Meet the Press." Nader said U.S. citizens are "feeling locked out, shut out, marginalized, disrespected" and someone needs to take a stand against "corporate-friendly" government policies agreed to by both Republicans and Democrats.

As for his stand on health care, he says, in a "civics test" on his web site Votenader.org, that he "supports a single payer, Canadian style, free choice, Medicare for all health care system."

In another part of his site that compares his stances to Democrats and Republicans, he says adopting a single payer national health insurance system is "on the table."

Nader told Russert that "all the candidates -- McCain, Obama and Clinton -- are against single payer health insurance, full Medicare for all. I'm for it."

First, though, he has to raise enough signatures (and a little more money no doubt) to get on ballots. But as in 2000 and 2004, when he has also ran, he says he's steadfast in his attempt, despite the odds against him.

The message is what matters, Nader told Russert: "Dissent is the mother of ascent. And in that context, I have decided to run for president."

We will be updating our WebMD election special "Health Matters in the 2008 Election" and adding Nader to our candidate comparison chart, even though details are slim on his proposals at this point.

For clear and up-to-date coverage of the health issues in this election, stay with WebMD. We'll keep you posted.

Sean Swint
Executive Editor, WeMD