Nader slams Obama’s ‘moral weakness,’ compares president to George W. Bush

Two-time independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader hammered President Obama on Tuesday for his “remarkable political, moral and strategic weakness” in brokering a tax deal with Republicans.

“It has become a widely-noticed habit of yours [Obama’s] to concede or to adopt both the Republican terms of policymaking and Republican policies and programs,” Nader wrote in a letter to the president. “For many of your 2008 voters, this [deal] will indeed be the last straw for any active support they might have considered providing you … [and] will signal even greater capitulations to the Republicans during the next two years.”

Nader also compared Obama to former President George W. Bush by linking to an imaginary letter in which Bush praises Obama for protecting his legacy and “backing [him] on so many things.”

In the tax deal, announced Monday, Obama calls for a two-year extension of the Bush-era tax cuts in exchange for a 13-month extension of unemployment benefits.

The deal also includes a 2 percent cut in the payroll tax and an adjustment of the estate tax to 35 percent, with exemptions for individuals and households inheriting up to $5 million and $10 million, respectively.

Calls to Nader for further comment were not immediately returned.

Read more of the letter here.