I just saw a commercial for Tom Golisano, who is running for New York Governor. The ad consisted of interviews with people explaining why they were voting for Golisano. Most generally voted democratic (Golisano is an independent) and explained how McCall (democrat) wouldn't win and Pataki (republican) can't get things done. They didn't want to "throw their vote away." At no point did they say that Golisano is a capable candidate, capable of righting the wrongs.
So then, we should vote for lesser of two evils? In the presidential election two years ago, I voted for Gore because I knew it would be a close call and I wasn't totally convinced by Nader. In retrospect, I should have gone with the best candidate. Why should we play games? If everyone voted for the best candidate, we would certainly have better candidates and more interesting elections, even if the right guy doesn't win every time.
But in regards to this New York race, Golisano is just a guy with a shitload of money looking for any way to win the elction. He reminds me of Monty Burns and Ross Perot.
Final Note: I think the outcome of the gubernatorial race will be determined by the quality of their websites. George Pataki, Carl McCall, Tom Golisano.