Nader seeks spot on R.I. ballot

Ralph Nader's independent presidential campaign is scheduled to turn in signatures this afternoon to get on the November ballot in Rhode Island -- the 10th state where his campaign has formally sought a spot on the ballot.

Nader's campaign says it will submit more than 2,000 signatures, twice as many as the minimum of 1,000 required, with Rhode Island's secretary of state.

His campaign also plans to turn in signatures today in South Carolina, and says he will be well on the way to being on the ballot in 15 states by next week.

In Massachusetts, Nader said he has about 17,000 signatures in hand and is aiming for 20,000. He needs 10,000 valid signatures to get on the Bay State ballot.

According to a CNN poll released on July 1, Nader is at 6 percent -- a higher standing, his campaign says, than he had at the same point in 2000, when he won nearly 3 percent of the vote nationwide and, in the eyes of many Democrats, cost Al Gore the race.

Nader, the longtime consumer gadfly, drew quite a bit of consternation from Democrats for criticizing Barack Obama last month, saying in an interview that the party's presumptive nominee was trying to "talk white" and to appeal to "white guilt" as he promotes corporate-friendly policies.