CBS News| Campaign 2000 
Nader & Buchanan Talk Mideast
Third-Party Candidates Comment On Crisis
... And They Critique Last Week's Debates
Both Appeared On CBS News' Face The Nation

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2000

CBS
Pat Buchanan
and Ralph Nader

(CBS) Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan sounded off on the Mideast crisis and 
the race for the White House over the weekend.The third-party presidential 
candidates appeared on CBS News' Face The Nation on Sunday.Both the Green 
Party's Nader and the Reform Party's Buchanan agreed on which incident 
sparked the violence between Israel and the Palestinians:  the visit by 
Ariel Sharon to Jerusalem's Temple Mount."That stupid and provocative act 
on the Temple Mount, or the Noble Sanctuary, with hundreds of Israeli security guards 
triggered this event," said Buchanan, who called the subsequent clashes a 
"popular uprising" or "people's revolution"."The Palestinian people have been 
occupied, persecuted, and oppressed for decades - and now they are responding 
to that," he added.  "And certainly, Americans, quite frankly, who drove the 
British out of our country in a violent act for offenses far less than what 
are taking place here, ought to understand this."Nader described Sharon's 
visit as "not a called-for situation"."The tinder box that occurs there and 
the level of inchoate outrage can be easily provoked by people who aren't really 
interested in establishing a two-state solution with peace and normal relationships," 
he said of the crisis."The Israelis need and want security and they have 
overwhelmingly military superiority, while the Palestinians need justice," 
Nader added.  "And the two parties are as close together to a settlement as 
they've ever been in five decades."Buchanan - a long-time critic of the United 
Nations - said the United States made the right move in abstaining from Saturday's 
vote on the U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the violence - a resolution 
that was critical of Israel."For years and years and years, we have allowed these 
Israelis to build up these illegal settlements on the West Bank, in East Jerusalem, 
on the Golan Heights, in Gaza.  This has put all that dynamite down there," he said.  
"We did it because quite frankly U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East is held hostage 
to special interest in the United States, the Israeli lobby, quite frankly, and those 
who sustain and support it, which someone famously called the 'amen corner' about 10 
years ago," added Buchanan, who used the phrase "amen corner" in reference to Israel 
during his opposition to the Persian Gulf War.As for the presidential race, neither 
Nader nor Buchanan was allowed to participate in the first debate between Democrat 
Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush last week. In fact, Nader was turned away at 
the door of the Boston event, even though he had a ticket given to him by a student.  
Both third-party contenders had plenty of critiques, anyway."I was very surprised 
how the mention of the poor escaped all these candidates on the debates.  Forty 
seven million workers are working-poor in this country, they're not making a livable 
wage", said Nader.
"I think this is a major issue that's being ignored - a booming economy and the majority 
of the workers slipping behind in real purchasing dollars, inadequate health insurance 
for 46 million people, 20 percent child poverty," he added.While Nader focused on the 
widening income gap between rich and poor, Buchanan dwelled on abortion rights."I thought 
Mr. Gore was his usual unctuous self through 90 minutes of intolerable discourse.  Mr. 
Bush astonished me when he did not stand up at all for life," said Buchanan."Rhetorically, 
Mr. Bush is pro-life; objectively and in reality, he has ceased to be a pro-life candidate," 
Buchanan added.  "He would not denounce RU-486, he would not even commit to appoint Supreme 
Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade.  Three of his judges to the Texas Supreme 
Court turned out to be pro-abortion." Copyright 2000, CBS Worldwide Inc., All Rights Reserved.


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