Obama rips Nader's 'talking white' remark

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama hit back at third-party presidential candidate Ralph Nader Wednesday, dismissing Nader's claim that Obama is "talking white" as an attempt to get attention for his fringe campaign.

Nader got one quarter of one percent of the presidential vote four years ago.

"There's only one thing different about Barack Obama when it comes to being a Democratic presidential candidate. He's half African-American," Nader told the paper. "Whether that will make any difference, I don't know. I haven't heard him have a strong crackdown on economic exploitation in the ghettos. Payday loans, predatory lending, asbestos, lead. What's keeping him from doing that? Is it because he wants to talk white?"

Speaking Wednesday, Obama almost sounded sorry for Nader.

"Ralph Nader hadn't been paying attention to my speeches, because all the issues that he talked about -- whether it be predatory lending, the housing foreclosure crisis . . . I've devoted multiple speeches," Obama said. "Ralph Nader is trying to get attention. I think it's a shame because if you look at his legacy in terms of consumer protections, its an extraordinary one."

But now, Obama said, "He's someone . . . whose campaign hasn't gotten any traction. So what better way to get some traction than to make an inflammatory statement like the one that he made? It is what it is."