I just saw the election night interview between Ralph Nader and Fox News anchor Shepard Smith. The interview focused on a prior comment of Nader’s: “To put it very simply, he is our first African American president; or he will be. And we wish him well. But his choice, basically, is whether he’s going to be Uncle Sam for the people of this country, or Uncle Tom for the giant corporations.”
Smith pressed Nader and eventually Nader said to Smith, “Look, I don’t like bullies like you.”
Nader said, about his Uncle Tom comment: “It is very simple. He (Obama) has gone along with corporate power from the moment he entered politics in the state senate. He voted for the Wall Street bailout. He supports expanding the military budget as desired by the military industrial complex; he doesn’t have a tax reform for ordinary fellows in this country. He opposed single payer, full medicare insurance for all because giant HMO’s opposed them. He doesn’t advocate a living wage. He is suppose to be respectful of the poor, but he barely mentions them in his speech; it is all about the middle class.
Nader said, “He (Obama) can be a great president or he can be a toady for the corporate power that has brought both parties to their knees against working people in this country, and has allowed our country to be hijacked by global corporations who have no allegiance to this country — corporations that shift jobs and industries to fascist and communist dictators who know how to keep their workers in their place.”
Nader said he was determined to hold the presidency of Barack Obama accountable.
