Third Party Time?

In today's Washington Times, Bruce Bartlett says things aren't so great for third parties despite the recent talk.

Whether he's right or not, the talk about troubles in the big two parties is nice to hear:

The lack of competition for the Republican presidential nomination and the increasing likelihood Howard Dean will be the Democratic nominee seem to be feeding renewed talk about third party candidates. It is fueled by a belief the Internet has helped make the major parties obsolete.
On both the Republican and Democratic sides of the fence, there is talk about third parties. Libertarians and many conservatives within the Republican Party are deeply frustrated with President Bush's budgetary profligacy and a number of other issues…
At the same time, some of Mr. Dean's people are making not-so-subtle noises about Mr. Dean running as a third party candidate should he lose the Democratic nomination. In effect, they are warning the party establishment not to gang up on Mr. Dean or he will guarantee that the Democratic candidate loses.