Third way

There's been a lot of carping from libertarian quarters about how Ron Paul don't get no respect. But isn't that over now? He's been invited to the debates, and his standing in the polls in some of the early-voting states puts him in the top tier of contenders. But what about Gary Johnson? There's somebody with a legitimate gripe:

The wildly popular former two-term governor of New Mexico, who lost part of his toe to frostbite climbing Mount Everest on a broken leg, has been excluded from 15 of 17 presidential debates.

The 58 year old who was elected governor in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2 to 1 has virtually disappeared from major political polling. The governor who got rid of 1,200 state employees, vetoed 750 bills and left New Mexico with a billion-dollar budget surplus is not Republican enough for the GOP.

"They won't return my calls," he said.

That's why he thinks you've probably never heard of Gary Johnson. Even if he grew a handyman business in Albuquerque from scratch to 1,000 employees. Even if he has ridden his bike across mountain ranges. Even if some see him as an electable version of Ron Paul.

"The Republican National Committee has turned their backs on a message that appeals more and more to the American public," he said.

Via hit & run, which notes that the interview, in the St. Petersburg Times, "could one day serve as the governor's letter of resignation from the GOP."

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Neither the Democratic or Republican party is now held in particularly high esteem. So what about a third party?

In a new USA TODAY/Gallup Swing States Poll, 54% of Americans nationwide and 52% in the nation's top battlegrounds agree that the two major parties "do such a poor job that a third major party is needed."

But the story notes that the political group most likely to back a third party are "moderate and liberal Republicans" upset by Tea Pary "extremism," and among Democrats, moderate and conservatives "seem somewhat disaffected from the liberal activists who often define their party." Not much chance of those two groups forming a coherent third party.