What is Nader up to?

I was minding my business. Well, not really. I had MSNBC's Joe Scarborough on in the background while reading an article linked off of Drudge about those torturous White House memos. (My dirty secret is that I also go to Drudge.) Anyway, Joe comes on and announces his guest, that Queen of Mean, Ann Coulter (who a friend of mine calls Skeletor). In a reaction almost as kneejerk as, well, a kneejerk, I got up and turned the channel to the Cubbies, where I can at least monitor whether we need to worry about the end of the world. (The Cubs winning the World Series, after all, is mentioned in the Book of Revelations, or so I am told.) My next thought was to immediately email Scarborough, and tell him why I turned off his show. Not an angry email, but just to let him know.

Anyways, as an odd internet caricature named "Stimpy" is wont to say (I'd give you a link to this delightful example of internet persona run amok, but you need to register to get into or view the Philadelphia Eagles Message Board.) What do I find on the MSNBC site but the following headlines right next to each other:

DEMOCRATS FILE CHALLENGE TO NADER

NADER URGES KERRY TO PICK EDWARDS

Now, the first article is careful to note that Arizona Democrats were the ones trying to decertify, and that the Kerry camp wasn't involved.

Pederson said, "we are not speaking for the Kerry campaign, we are not speaking for the Democratic National Committee. This is strictly an effort by Arizonans to make sure that our presidential election in Arizona is legitimate and it's legal."

Pederson said he had told some Kerry campaign officials that "we were filing the lawsuit.... They said, 'You're on your own.'"

So the Kerry camp, at the very least, does not want to appear to be against the presence of Nader in the race, and Nader? Well, he's advising Kerry on a running mate!

In an open letter sent Wednesday, the independent presidential candidate urged Kerry to choose John Edwards as his running mate, saying the North Carolina senator and former trial lawyer has been thoroughly vetted and is committed to protecting the right of consumers to sue corporations that harm them.

“(Edwards) has already gone through a primary campaign and has his rhythm and oratory (the "Two Americas" speech) all well-honed,” Nader wrote to Kerry. “After a slow start, Sen. Edwards closed fast and has won praise from the media.”

Edwards, the last Democrat to bow out after Kerry’s series of primary wins, won several large verdicts before he was elected to the Senate. Nader said Edwards is committed to preserving a civil justice system that is under attack by “corporate supremacists.”

LINK!

Is it true that Nader just wants to boost a fellow warrior against corporate America, or is Nader not long for this campaign, and ready to move his voters over to Kerry? Why an open letter, if not to show some kind of support for Kerry?

Anyways, as Stimpy would put it, it all looks good from here.