This year has been a discouraging one for the United States, ushering in a crashing economy, a less-than-stellar foreign policy, and an abundance of pork-barrel legislation.

Senators Barack Obama and John McCain have stepped up to the plate to try to get the country back on its feet. I’ve found myself confronted with the inevitable question of which candidate to support, and can give only one answer: neither. I feel that neither candidate deserves my support. I do not trust either to lead our country out of these dark times. Choosing between the ­Republican and Democratic candidate would mean choosing the lesser of two evils. Instead, I prefer to align myself with a candidate who shares my views on stabilizing the economy, preventing war, and downsizing the government. This candidate is Ralph Nader.

Nader is the only presidential candidate who has experience running his own business. He has applicable knowledge of the economy and strives to distribute wealth equally. He was quoted on “Meet The Press” as saying: “There is a two-tier economy where the top 10 percent is doing quite well, the top one percent spectacularly. But the top one percent of the richest ­people in this country have financial wealth equal to the combined 95 percent of the American people. That’s a very ­unhealthy inequality.” In order to fix this, Nader proposes to repeal the Bush administration tax cuts and adjust the federal income tax. This shows that he is driven to help the average American survive the current ­economic slump.

Nader also wants to help America move past Congress’s war-happy regime. He proposes a “draft from the top,” meaning when an administration approves a war, the service-aged children of all members of that Congress and Cabinet will be the first to serve. This would ensure that elected officials think carefully before declaring war. Nader also supports pulling out of Iraq within six months and trying to negotiate with Iran. He wants to take our men and women in uniform out of Iraq and bring them home where they belong.

It seems that Washington, D.C., has become a place that does not represent the common man, but rather a place where big business can keep their pets. It has become less a place where citizen groups can persuade their representatives, and more a place where their representatives will pander to lobbyists and corporations. This makes it almost impossible for small businesses, or the average worker, to be heard.

Nader supports an anti-trust initiative ­specially designed to help small businesses stay afloat in this corporate world. This initiative would focus on corporate crime, fraud, and abuse of power. By breaking up monopolies and trusts, Nader would give small businesses and entrepreneurs a fair shot at ­succeeding, which is ­essential for a positive economic outlook and the only way to pull the country out of ­recession.

All in all, I believe that Nader really is looking out for the American people. He is the candidate who can put the American back into American government. He plans to launch a full-fledged crusade on the global economy, redistribute wealth, and make us more self-sufficient. By campaigning with peace-keeping efforts, he hopes to show that war is not the answer to foreign-affair problems. If elected, he would yank the White House out of the hands of big business and give it back to the masses.

Nader’s policies serve the interests of middle- and lower-class America, showing that he really is a candidate for the common man. Let him lead the way out of these dark times, with his torch of peace in one hand, an American flag in the other, and the working class marching beside him.