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ELECTION 2008: ON THE TRAIL

January 31, 2008

He's ba-a-a-ck. Ralph Nader, below, the consumer advocate who ran for president in 2000 and 2004, said he is considering another bid because he believes the current contenders aren't standing up enough to corporate interests. "Look at the major areas of injustice, deprivation and solutions that are not being addressed by the major candidates," said Nader, 73, who was blamed in 2004 for taking enough votes from Al Gore in Florida to force the state into the GOP column, thereby making George W. Bush president. He rejected that view in a telephone interview yesterday, saying he had helped push Gore to talk about issues that gained him more support.

The Post speaks. The New York Post endorsed Barack Obama for president yesterday, calling him an "untried candidate" but a preferable alternative to Hillary Rodham Clinton. The paper said Clinton and her husband "stand for deja vu all over again - a return to the opportunistic, scandal-scarred, morally muddled years of the almost infinitely self-indulgent Clinton co-presidency."

The papers are coming. Hillary Rodham Clinton's daily schedules as first lady will be forwarded to former President Bill Clinton by tomorrow for review, the National Archives said yesterday. He will have 30 days - possibly longer, if he requests an extension - to review the 10,000 pages before they are sent to the White House for its review, said Susan Cooper of the National Archives. The Bush administration does not have a time limit to review the documents before they can be released to the public, Cooper said.

Romney holds back. Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney signaled yesterday that he's not ready to commit to a costly ad campaign in the states holding primaries and caucuses next week. On Super Tuesday, he plans to campaign on the ground in California and other primary states.