Okay, Ralph. What's The Deal?

Joe Conason does a little digging and finds a big fat ol' bone:

The Nader 2004 campaign is presently headquartered at 1400 16th Street in Washington -- a modern, downtown office building where it shares a suite with an outfit called Citizen Works. That group describes itself as "a nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization founded by Ralph Nader in April 2001 to advance justice by strengthening citizen participation in power."

In other words, his presidential campaign is occupying the same premises as one of his nonprofit groups.

Charles Lewis, executive director of the Center for Public Integrity and author of "The Buying of the President 2004," notes that presidential candidates have frequently used "nonprofit incubators where they do their planning, as places to perch before they begin a campaign." As Lewis noted, such relationships can easily cross lines of legality and propriety -- as has been alleged most recently against Al Sharpton, who is accused of misusing his nonprofit National Action Network for prohibited political purposes.

"It's not appropriate for a 501(c)(3) operation to be warehousing a presidential candidacy," said Lewis. "If there's an arms-length transaction -- meaning a payment process and a lease that actually exists -- then perhaps it is legal. But whether it's legal or not legal, it looks questionable, particularly for a candidate and a group devoted to good government. It's questionable at best. You know, it's the old 'I Love Lucy' line: They've got some explaining to do."