It’s amazing how things can change in a matter of hours, isn’t it?  Mere hours ago, I was pondering my options for the future, given John McCain and Barack Obama’s contempt for their critics.

Yesterday, Sarah Palin brought up the Obama-William Ayers connection , saying Obama was “palling around with terrorists.”  Then hours ago, Politico had a report about Obama’s return volley in the form of the Keating 5 scandal, which McCain was embroiled in some years ago.  Our own Michael ver der Galien discussed this development in another article.

Both are misleading at best.  But both are the types of things I thought I’d never see from both campaigns.  And thus, my support for them is lost.  On November 4th, my vote goes to Libertarian Party candidate Bob Barr.

PoliGazette’s Michael Merritt has decided to vote for a third party candidate, Bob Barr of the Libertarian Party. (more…)

It’s been a couple weeks since I wrote my third party roundup.  Since then, the Green Party has officially chosen its President and Vice President, and the Reform Party has joined the game as well.  I highly recommend reading it, especially if you’re dissatisfied with the big two parties, or just want to know more information about what other parties are out there.

Although I’ve done this roundup, I’ve yet to do an in-depth analysis on the role of third parties in 2008 during my time here.  It is coming.

Starting with this election, I have become very interested in the various third parties in the United States. I became an Independent because I was disgusted with the state of the two party system and the two parties that were propping up and maintaining that system. Still, that doesn’t mean I’m unwilling to hear what parties have to say. So, I’ve spent a great deal of time following them, as well as Indpendent candidates.

In this entry, I give a pretty thorough roundup of who’s running for these third parties, as well as explaining what the parties are all about, and my take on the candidates’ chances.

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This is going to make quite some Democrats very unhappy:

Ralph Nader says he is seriously considering running for president in 2008 because he foresees another Tweedledum-Tweedledee election that offers little real choice to voters.

In an interview Nader told The Politico: “You know the two parties are still converging — they don’t even debate the military budget anymore. I really think there needs to be more competition from outside the two parties.”

When asked about the ’spoiler’ accusation, Nader said: “Democrats have become, over the years, very good at electing very bad Republicans. Democrats always know how to implode, how to be ambiguous, how to waver, how not to be authentic.”

About Hillary Clinton: “She is a political coward. She goes around pandering to powerful interest groups on the one hand and flattering general audiences on the other. She doesn’t even have the minimal political fortitude of her husband.”

Ouch - that has got to hurt.

Chris Lehane, who worked in Bill Clinton’s White House and Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign, is quoted by Roger Simon (in return) as saying: “His entry into the race, even to those who voted for him in 2000, would be just another vainglorious effort to promote himself at the expense of the best interests of the public. Ralph Nader is unsafe in any election.”

Now, I am everything but an (American) progressive, let alone that I would ever consider voting for Nader, but the entire “spoiler” accusation is beyond ridiculous. Back in 2000, Gore lost because of Gore. Back in 2004, Kerry lost because of Kerry. It can never be wrong that there are more parties out there, who try to serve the people. Is the American political system broken? I most certainly believe it is. Well, by forcing the two parties to fight for every vote, the system might, perhaps, be fixed or at least improved.