Why Did Gonzalez Join Nader's Ticket?

Presidential hopeful Ralph Nader announced his running mate Thursday. Madeleine Brand talks with San Francisco politician Matt Gonzalez about why he agreed to share the independent ticket.

"I thought what I would bring to it ... is an emphasis on election reform, and I could cite specific things that I had accomplished in that regard," he says.

Gonzalez is the former president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. In 2003, he ran for mayor of San Francisco but lost to Gavin Newsom.

Iraq is the main issue Gonzalez says he hopes to draw attention to.

"It's incredible to me that Sen. McCain is putting out there this idea of almost perpetual war, but Sen. Obama , when given an opportunity to commit himself to getting American soldiers out of there by January 2013 ... would not commit to that," the Texas native says.

He is not remotely concerned about "spoiling" the election for a Democratic candidate, he says. Voters should simply focus on the issues and pick the candidate that best represents them. If other candidates want to adjust their issue stance accordingly, fine, he says.

"I invite the other candidates to win over the voters that want to vote for us."