A good number of voters in this country feel that a strong, third-party candidate, perhaps New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, would make the best choice in 2008. The problem is that independent — even independent-minded — candidates elected to executive positions in the past have shown to be less than satisfactory.
Jesse Ventura, elected governor of Minnesota in 1998, and Lowell Wiecker, elected governor of Connecticut in 1990 are examples of third-party candidates who left office after one term, having accomplished little. Jimmy Carter, while elected U.S. president as a Democrat, attempted to govern in a very independent style. His presidency was a disaster.
Michael Bloomberg is an intelligent, hard-working individual. But with the United States currently facing issues of war, terror and economic uncertainty, now is not the time for a third-party experiment inside the White House.
Clark Roger Larsen
Cottonwood Heights