Opinion : the problem with the 2 party system

While I have supported both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama in the past, I am not happy about this up coming presidential election. Like many people, I feel that there is really no candidate that represents my interests. How have we come to the point where most of are elections are a choice between the lesser of 2 evils? One of the big problems is that our political institutions support an entrenched 2 party system. What America really needs is at least 4 distinct political parties, in a system that encourages compromise, similar to what exists in Europe.

It is easy to see how the uneasy alliances on each side of the isle would break to form 4 political parties. On the Liberal side there would be a intellectual activist group (similar to the Green party, could be lead by Al Gore and Obama) and a party of unionized workers (the Labor Party, led by Hillary Clinton?). This would allow all politicians to be more honest by unwinding some policy contradictions (like the UAW being opposed to environmental regulations). On the Conservative side, you have a party of wealthy libertarian types who do not care much for social policy (led by Mitt Romney and Donald Trump) and a party of social conservatives who want the government to legislate morality (likely led by Palin and Santorum). Again, with out having to please everyone under the "Big Tent", politicians could lead a much more honest public dialogue.

Unfortunately, The way our primary systems are set up, more than 2 political parties are currently impractical. If a 3rd party bid splits up 1 of the parties, the result will likely encourage the other party to stay together and win, not to follow suit to achieve needed reform (see: Ross Perot). Mediocre, insincere candidates will continue to be the norm for the foreseeable future, as these candidates have the best chance to unite the fundamentally fragmented parties.