Candidate's Exclusion Is Undemocratic

The Daily Californian should be thanked for including some coverage of the protests against Ralph Nader's exclusion from the presidential debate in the article "Debate Elicits Cheers and Jeers" (Oct. 5). Unfortunately, the article does not discuss the real issues that Nader would have brought to a debate. Even more unfortunate is that the closing comment might mislead readers about what Nader stands for, and why his exclusion has such grave implications for our democracy.

The Nader campaign is based on truly democratic principles. It seeks to return power to the people — not corporations, to elect our leaders and control the democratic process. Thus the Nader campaign directly confronts the concentration of corporate power in Washington, D.C. and internationally.

The criteria for participation in the debate are determined arbitrarily by the "bi-partisan," corporate-sponsored Commission on Presidential Debates. These criteria can be changed under the sole control of the commission. I don't recall ever voting in a democratic process about how we wish candidates to be permitted to engage in this so-called "democratic" event.