This could work to our advantage

Washington Post has an interesting piece about the threat of third parties in the 2004 election. Before anybody screams Nader (and you know where I stand on that), this piece also predicts that a strong third party candidate can do harm to Bush:

The Libertarian and Independence parties are significant threats to the Republican Party in 2004. The soaring budget deficit in Washington, ballooning expenditures and an expansion of government under Republican control of the White House and Congress have not only fired up the usual inside-the-Beltway deficit hawks; they have also fueled a grass-roots protest movement. Some of those disaffected Americans won't vote at all. Some will vote Democrat. But many will go outside the box to vote for a third party.

The piece also points out that the Green Party has gained strength and the Democrats still aren't paying attention. It doesn't mention that the Greens want Bush out of office just as much as anybody else on the left, and they are floating strategies to run a campaign that would try not to hinder a Democratic candidate, as long as that candidate doesn't lean too far to the right.

Third parties haven't disappeared, and this piece contends that they have gained more strength. They are going to make this next election a bit more interesting.