what the numbers actually say is that roughly 60% of voters don't care about platforms, they just vote based on branding. when you factor in leaning, meaning the people that think before they vote, it's 47-41. that leaves around 10%, the traditional independent faction.

however, it's long been understood that independents that refuse to admit a political leaning actually lean republican. that puts the split where it's been for years.

gotcha politics from the soft-left press.

the only way an independent candidate is going to break through the mess is by appealing to a populist issue that transcends the traditional right/left divide. somebody like ron paul could have done it by building on opposition to the drug war and standing up for civil liberties, if he wasn't a racist, misogynist corporate stooge. somebody with glenn greenwald's politics and ross perot's money. of course, s/he'd be dead in a flash...

http://www.truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/item/18408-republican-voter-identification-falls-to-new-low-point-as-independent-voters-surge