I’ve been saying this for several years now. Peggy Noonan sums it up pretty well.

The problem is not that the two parties are polarized. In many ways they’re closer than ever. The problem is that the parties in Washington, and the people on the ground in America, are polarized. There is an increasing and profound distance between the rulers of both parties and the people–between the elites and the grunts, between those in power and those who put them there.

Read the whole thing.

I think there are many “Libertarians” and middle-of-the-roaders that don’t feel totally comfortable identifying with either major party, but feel compelled to choose sides when it comes to an either-or choice. The problem is the two-party system has created such an atmosphere that makes it virtually impossible for a third-party to gain much traction. At least, that’s the way it used to be. But now with the grassroots effort of the Internet, I think the tide could be changing. Now anyone with a computer and Internet access can reach millions of potential voters and get something close to “equal time”… especially as citizens continue to shun the traditional media outlets.

The question is not if… but when?

Update: Joe Trippi, the liberal campaign manager and a friend of a friend, seems to agree with me:

America’s two political parties may not realise it yet, but in their current form they are nearing obsolescence. As technological advancements continue to bring more and better tools for communication, citizens are increasingly empowered to come together in common purpose and reject the current political system that seems designed by the two parties to keep us apart.

There was a time when to have any hope of winning office a candidate needed to run within either the Republican or Democratic party. To come from one of the major parties meant that a candidate inherited a dedicated donor base and an organisational base as well.

The 2004 presidential campaign proved that those days are nearing an end - and it is the ability of hundreds of thousands using the internet to connect with each other that makes it so.