Whoever is scripting Ralph Nader's recent forays into web video deserves an Oscar. Say whatever you want about Nader's politics, ego or stubbornness, you have to admit this stuff is good.

I covered Nader closely in 2000 (and have several chapters on him in my book Spoiling for a Fight: Third Parties in America), and I recall how hard his staffers pushed him to do more media aimed at pop culture. One ad in particular, a parody of a Monster.com commercial, where a bunch of kids talked about their downsized visions of their future ("when I grow up, I want to be middle management") got all kinds of resistance from Nader, despite his staff's sense that it would play well. (I can't seem to find the actual ad on the web anywhere, alas.)

Now all those blinders are gone, as you can see from his dalliance with the Obama Girl. The cameo appearance by former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura is also a nice touch.

It's a shame our political process is so rigged that Nader, and the other major third-party candidates, don't get a shot at the general public via the TV debates. YouTube is a great alternative platform, but it can't substitute for a focused national audience of tens of millions at the same time.