NORMAL - Democratic candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are locked in a back-and-forth exchange of barbs that illustrates a new low in presidential politics, third-party candidate Ralph Nader said Monday. | Video

Citing the latest dispute over Obama's comment about rural voters being bitter and whether Clinton was sincere in her visit to a working-class tavern, Nader said their only hope of escape from the cycle of charge and countercharge is the voters.

"They can only be rescued by the people. … Voters need to raise the expectation levels," said Nader, the famed consumer advocate whom Time magazine called one of the 100 most influential voices of the 20th century.

Nader was in Normal to speak at the Civic Engagement Celebration at Illinois State University. The event is tied to ISU's participation in the American Democracy Project, which aims to help students at ISU and other campuses become more civic-minded and politically aware.

Nader called the the Democratic senators' latest exchanges "highly exaggerated responses to casual sound bytes." He said they embarrass the two candidates, the voters and everyone around the globe watching the presidential race.

"It's as if these candidates are running for 'Saturday Night Live' and not the office of the president of the United States," he said.

Nader called his own decision to join the presidential race a way to raise awareness about the lack of competition in the U.S. political process. The 2008 election marks his fifth campaign for the nation's top post.

"We've allowed our country to turn into a two-party dictatorship," he said, criticizing both the Democratic and Republican parties for pandering to the same corporate contributions. "They are selling the U.S. government to the highest corporate bidder."

He told the group of about 800 people that he hoped his visit to the campus would shake up the students from a period of passivity enveloping the nation.

"Every social justice movement in our history has started with shaking up," he said, alluding to the American Revolution, the end of slavery, the civil rights movement and women fighting for the right to vote. "Civic action means you have to break your routine."

He called on the students to first recognize the important role of each voter.

"You have to have a sense that you matter or count," he said.

Colleges should build civic skills courses into their curriculum, he said. Students should be taught how to be active public citizens, not just a series of facts to memorize about the branches of government.

Nader criticized today's young adults for lacking enough public indignation to get up and become civically active. He said too many see fighting city hall or affecting change at the national level as impossible.

It's easier to ignore civic duty and instead watch episodes of "American Idol" or update profiles on social networks like Facebook, he said.

Looking back to people involved in earlier social justice movements, Nader said those citizens didn't have the communication technology available today, but they still connected and moved forward.

"We can't make excuses for ourselves," he said.

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Ralph Nader

U.S. presidential candidate and consumer advocate Ralph Nader spoke Monday at Illinois State University, Normal, as part of the campus's annual Civic Engagement Celebration. Following are highlights of his resume.

- He has been a U.S. presidential candidate in every election since 1988 as an independent or Green Party candi-date. Critics have accused of him of running unrealistic campaigns and costing then-Vice President Al Gore the 2000 election.

- As a young attorney, Nader's wrote "Unsafe at Any Speed" in 1965, leading to extensive safety-technology changes throughout the auto industry, including seatbelts and airbags.

- He helped created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

- He's written or co-written dozens of other books.

- He's led dozens of public advocacy groups over the years including Public Citizen (www.citizen.org) and Essential Information (www.essential.org).