GIVE US A REAL CHOICE – AT 10:28 A.M. ET:  That is what Americans seem to be saying about this year's presidential election, in which we're given a choice between Bonnie and Clyde.  From Reuters: 

Americans' demand for an alternative to the two main presidential candidates has surged since the last election, a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll shows, underscoring the unpopularity of Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Based on 2,153 interviews, Friday's poll results suggest a strong potential for a third-party candidate - like Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party or Jill Stein of the Green Party - to take enough of the vote in the Nov. 8 presidential election to influence its outcome.

According to the July 1-8 poll, 21 percent of likely voters will not back Trump or Clinton. That compares with about 13 percent of likely voters who opted out of the two main choices at the same point in the 2012 race between incumbent President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

The poll also showed a majority of American voters have an overall "unfavorable" view of both main candidates, with 46 percent of Clinton supporters and 47 percent of Trump supporters saying their top priority when voting will be to stop the opposing candidate from reaching the White House.

Demand for an alternative could be decisive in hotly contested battleground states. In Florida in 2012, for instance, Obama won by less than 1 percentage point. If this year's race is just as tight, third-party candidates could draw enough support to flip the state from one major party to the other.

COMMENT:  No one knows whether these figures will increase, decrease, or remain steady, for the rest of the campaign.  Some dream of a third force influencing the race enough to deny victory in the Electoral College to either major candidate.  That would throw the presidency into the House of Representatives, which would have to choose from among the top three contenders.  Precisely where does that get us?

A true third force would have a chance at outright victory.  But I'm afraid it's too late for that, and there may not even be a popular enough candidate to head such a force.  Had David Petraeus been able to control his hormones, he might have been such a leader. 

The bottom line is that, no matter who is elected in November, we will have a very bitter, divided country. 

July 9,  2016