It's interesting you mention Perot, clok. That was the first Presidential election I can recall REALLY paying attention to. If Perot had chosen a better VP candidate AND didn't go off the deep end with the conspiracy stuff (all "the government is trying to kill me" talk), he would have had a REAL shot given how well he did even AFTER all that. What's particularly sad about that was that that was the last real chance a third party candidate had, and he blew it by being kooky. Now I think the two embedded parties now better how to block such things from happening, though they do still happen once in a blue moon at the state level.

The only way I could see another Perot, meaning a third party candidate with a real shot, would be someone who already has a built-in audience like a Trump, albeit without all the baggage - and yes - kookiness, that he exhibits. Someone well known already, someone successful, someone not beholden to either party, and of course someone who has vast riches so they don't need a large amount of support from outside interests. That's a tough bill to fill.