Responding to Ralph Nader's comments that Barack Obama is "talking white" and trying to appeal to "white guilt," Obama said it's a shame people may forget about the famed consumer advocate's contributions to society.
"Ralph Nader is just trying to get attention," Obama said. "Ralph Nader is someone whose campaign ... hasn't gotten any traction."
Nader, who in February started his fourth run for president, is credited with helping popularise auto seatbelts and airbags, and for standing up for consumers against corporations for decades, initially through his group Public Citizen. He was instrumental in the founding of government agencies that protect citizens from corporate environmental pollution and workers from unsafe working conditions. He gained repute with the publication in 1965 of his book "Unsafe at Any Speed," which detailed safety defects in American cars.
In an interview published today, Nader criticised Obama for not speaking out on payday loans and predatory lending, lead poisoning and asbestos. He wondered if Obama won't take up those issues and cry out about the plight of the inner cities because he doesn't want to sound like Jesse Jackson.
