Kerry eyes Nader vote

White House hopeful John Kerry said yesterday that a meeting may be "in the works" with Ralph Nader, whose own bid as an independent is seen by some Democrats as a potential boost to President George W. Bush's re-election chances.

"I'm going to talk directly to people who in the past have been inclined to support Ralph Nader," the Massachusetts senator said.

"I'm not going to attack him in any way. I'm just going to try to talk to his people and point out that we've got to beat George Bush."

Some Democrats blamed Nader's third-party White House run in 2000 for helping elect Bush.