Consumer advocate Nader starts US presidential bid

(Corrects second paragraph to NBC's "Meet the Press" instead of "Today Show")

WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Consumer advocate Ralph Nader said on Sunday that he is launching another longshot independent campaign for president of the United States.

Nader, who will turn 74 this week, announced his presidential bid on NBC's "Meet the Press" saying that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are addressing the problems facing Americans.

Nader also ran for president in 2000 when he got about 2.7 percent of the national vote as the Green Party candidate and played a role in deciding the final presidential coutcome. He also ran as an independent in 2004 and got only a tiny fraction of the vote.

Many Democrats blame Nader's participation in the close race between Democrat Al Gore and Republican George Bush in 2000 for tipping the election in favor of Bush. They believe that but for Nader's name on the ballot in Florida, Gore would have been the clear winner and president today instead of Bush.

Nader called Washington "corporate occupied territory" that turns the government against the interest of its own people.

"In that context I have decided to run for president," Nader said. (Reporting by Donna Smith; Editing by David Wiessler) (To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)