I think it is interesting that everyone on the mid-left has been all over Ralph Nader like iBankers on a drunk model. They keep asserting that his running will, in effect, destroy his legacy, especially if Bush wins. By legacy these whiney lefties refer not only to the laws he was able to have enacted but also his perception in history.
The facts are these: Ralph Nader was and will never go in any history books - since when does our country really honor those that fought for the rights of everyman? I bet that in 2085 Donald Trump is more likely to be in the books that Mr. Nader. Secondly, by running Nader has a lot more political power than he would if he did not run. Today he is having an hour long meeting with John Kerry where-in Nader can get promises of just about whatever he wants so long as he does what he can (short of dropping out) to make sure he does not get in Kerry's way. This is backroom politics at their best, one man over a barrel, neither with any real power... yet.
Anyway, my point is this, Nader has been accused of a certain naiveté but I think he is actually an extremely savvy political player.