When Democratic presidential candidates get together to debate in New Hampshire next year, the participants may include, among others, Senators John Kerry, John Edwards, and Joseph Lieberman, Congressman Richard Gephardt, former Vermont governor Howard Dean, the Reverend Al Sharpton and ... Ralph Nader. Nader? That’s right.

According to some in Nader’s circle, among the 2004 electoral possibilities for the 2000 Green Party presidential candidate is the tactic of entering the Democratic primary as a Democrat, and then, when he loses, running in the general election as either an independent or a Green. This would enable Nader to receive the publicity of a primary season, gain inclusion — along with Sharpton and other progressive Democratic candidates — in debates, and possibly even earn federal matching funds to fuel a campaign. On the Republican side, this strategy was considered, and rejected, by Arizona senator John McCain in 2000.

" It’s technically possible, " says one McCain-camp source. " The problem is that the room for such a candidate is not on the fringes — the far right or the far left — but in the vital center. "

Whether the Democrats would allow it is unclear. But it could be one interesting scenario to look for as the 2004 race draws closer.