The most startling and profound moment of last night’s Ralph Nader rally at Benson High didn’t come from the candidate. It wasn’t his entrance or his words. At the time, he was sitting down.

It was the people who did it.

After delivering a rambling speech, Nader took a break before a Q&A session. A lawyer friend of his, Greg Kafoury, took to the stage to solicit campaign contributions. He asked the audience if anyone in the audience could contribute $2,300, the max allowable.

An uneasy hush fell over the crowd.

Kafoury kept at it. Was there anyone here who could do it? He pounded it. It felt sad, an indicator of Nader's sinking relevance in the popular political community. "You can put it on your credit card," Kafoury beckoned. No takers. He ratcheted the amount down to $1,000 and all of a sudden someone stood up.

"$1,000!" he shouted.

Then there was another. And another. Three of them ponied up, saving face for the withering, crusader who had managed to fill about half the seats in the large high school auditorium.

One of the $1,000-givers looked quite young--early 30's at best. He was wearing a green hoodie that read "Ireland". He didn't appear flush with dough. I looked at him with awe. It was inspiring.

The rounds continued at lower denominations. A handful of $500 donations. Many more at $250 and $100. In these terms, the night must have been a success.

The financial edification of Nader's efforts were especially surprising after the tepid speech he had just delivered. It ping-ponged for some 40-odd minutes (maybe more?) like an bouncy ball jumping from topic to topic (only less exciting).

In the span of 30 seconds Nader tossed off mentions of Bristol Myers Squibb, Bush impeachment, asbestos, and the amount of money an executive makes during a 15-minute trip to the bathroom. These obtuse, jagged free-associations burst forth constantly during the speech, which had no real flow. Nader swerved back and forth, failing to group like-concerns into some more cohesive narrative. It was all just out there. BOOM! Like a pinata full of gripes exploding over the audience.

Most of his concerns are right on the money, mind you, but had Nader been trying to reach a broader audience--rather than preaching to the choirs--the casual observer would've been left in the dust of Nader's figure-8.

But therein lies the post on Nader's windy walk that he kept returning to: You've got to be involved. You've got to sacrifice, and learn and work. Civic responsibility, while demanding, is a must.

"Shame on us," he said. "Shame on us for not showing up to defend this country," from those in the White House, and of course, the corporations. With his elbows resting on the podium, a head too heavy slumping from his wispy frame, Nader banged on the corporations over and over again.

The message, of course, is not new. Nor is Nader's viability. But that's not really the point--Ralph is here to remind us what democracy and freedom and liberty really are, explaining that the real meanings of which have been obfuscated by media, corporations and major political parties. He repeated his mantra, a quote from Eugene Debbs, a number of times: "Freedom is participation in power." He added, "It's not about voting for the least-worst."

Nader's candidacy isn't about viability--he is too disheveled in tone, delivery and message to be the proper vessel. The picture he paints, although optimistic at heart, sometimes reads overtly bleak, as if the only brush were a red pen. It's a laundry list of reprehensible acts, all which, he believes, can be fixed with regulation. At times it almost sounds fearsome--some bureaucratic nightmare a la Terry Gilliam's Brazil.

But really, what Nader is asking for is a fair discussion, to be allowed onto the ballots and into the debates. Despite all the baggage he's carrying, Nader is a relentless warrior for whom giving up is not an option. "I'm not a quitter," he told me in a recent interview.

And while the media coverage has mostly dried up--there were no local TV News outlets at the event--Nader will continue, buoyed by a frighteningly shrinking contingent of supporters. Among them though, passions run deep, as evidenced by those stood up that night at Benson and said "Yes, I'll give." They will provide the contrast, praying that the message is heard, and rallying against those who would stomp it out. Another one stands up. "Yes, I'll give."

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No local TV media showed up, but this guy did! You know him, right? Public Access pro-weed show! Fuck yeah man!