Question: "Given the Republican's head-in-sand refusal to change their rhetoric about spending since their defeat last November (as evidenced by Tom Cole's recent "spending wasn't the problem" comment)... has your attitude about third parties changed at all?

Could you see yourself ever voting for a third party Presidential candidate if he was clearly more aligned with your political values than anybody else in the race?" -- President_Friedman

Answer: It wouldn't matter if a third party presidential candidate perfectly represented my positions on every single issue because with the way that our political system is set up, it's almost impossible for the third party candidate to win. And let's face it: the point of running for office is to win, so that you have a chance to influence government policy. In my book, you don't get any brownie points for being perfect on the issues and pulling 3% of the vote. In fact, candidates like that actually make it less likely that their views will be represented in government, because they drain support away from the candidate who is closest to their views that has a chance to win.