THE GREEN PARTY'S decision last weekend to endorse David Cobb, not Ralph Nader, as the party's candidate for president creates at least some hope of avoiding a political fiasco for the Greens and for the progressive movement as a whole.

Cobb, a lawyer from Texas, recognized that in 2004, politics is a pragmatic as well as an ideological undertaking. He's vowed to contest only states that are almost certain to go either for John Kerry or for George W. Bush – that is, states in which there's almost no chance the Green Party will become a spoiler and throw the White House to one of the worst, most dangerous presidents in modern history.

That's not just good for the Democrats and for the country – it's also good for the Green Party. While we respect (and often agree with) the Greens' criticism of the national Democratic Party platform and Kerry's insistence on running away from the left, we also recognize (as do most thinking progressives) that the primary goal of the November election has to be the defeat of Bush. And anything the Green Party does that creates the impression that the party is helping Bush remain in office will anger millions of potential allies and hurt hundreds of qualified, credible Green Party candidates who are desperately trying to win election to local offices and build the party around the county.

As media columnist Norman Solomon writes in a piece on sfbg.com, "The Green Party should not be at cross-purposes with the progressive movements struggling to end the Bush presidency. People in those movements will long remember, for good or ill, how the Green Party conducts itself between now and the day that seals the fate of the Bush White House."

Nader, to his lasting discredit, doesn't seem to understand this. Now that he can't get the Green endorsement, Nader is making all kinds of sketchy alliances with the likes of the Reform Party (which last nominated Pat Buchanan for president) and Republican ringers who are gleefully helping him get on the ballot in swing states.

Nader doesn't seem to realize how furious even his strongest supporters from past campaigns are with his arrogant move to run as an independent. He doesn't seem to realize how much lasting damage will be done to the causes and movements he has spent his life fighting for if he becomes a significant factor in a Bush victory.

Nader has come up with a long list of dubious justifications for his presidential campaign, but none of them make sense. The reality is that Nader can do almost no good this year, and he can potentially do some very, very serious harm. We share Nader's concern that Kerry is running too much to the center – and that he can't win without energizing progressives. But Nader's campaign won't help that cause.

Instead of trying to get on the ballot in states where even a few percentage points could keep Bush in office, Nader should do the principled, smart, and practical thing. He should hold a press conference and announce that he's dropping out and encourage his supporters to vote for Kerry. We've supported Nader in the past – we endorsed him for president in 2000 – but this is not the time for a selfish, foolhardy move that could sentence the nation to four more years of Bush.