As for running a Green Party candidate for president in 2004, Robinson admits that "Bush has certainly given me pause; in fact I think Greens everywhere are thinking about it." But in the end, she says, it's more important to build the party than to defeat Bush -- and to do that, the Greens need to run a national campaign. "If we didn't run a presidential candidate, our organizing efforts would be set back years," says Robinson, who divides her time between the Green Party and law school at the University of Michigan. "Under state election laws, you need to field a candidate to maintain your line on the ballot. Running a national race also gives you invaluable exposure. If we didn't run a candidate next year, it would just confirm in voters' minds their suspicion that we're simply a different shade of Democrat."

We were just discussing Nader in some comments yesterday, and today Salon publishes an article on Nader, the Green Party and their plans to screw the country and themselves again in 2004.

"Legitimate" and "justice" seem to be the keywords differentiating Mr Hart from the Bush doctrine.

[...]

From an Italian perspective, a Gary Hart America would be a lot more reassuring than a Bush America. Who knows, it might even make it easier for us here at the periphery to get rid of our own "B" guy.

Flavio likes the Senator. While they can't vote, I'd certainly be curious to get more European (and the rest of the world) views on the field of candidates given the concern amongst Democrats (and reasonable folk everywhere) about how the US is currently perceived by the world. I suspect, given the opportunity, "Unnamed Democrat" (thats a good name for a blog ... hmm) might win the European vote at this point.

Federal prosecutors said Benjamin James Johnson, 27, an engineer for Fox News Channel, was charged in a criminal complaint with smuggling 12 Iraqi paintings and 40 Iraqi monetary bonds into the United States. The articles were impounded by Customs agents at Dulles International Airport near Washington.

No comment, just thought I'd share.