Could it get any worse?

OK, so Bush is on his way out, and won't be in office TOO much longer

Bearing in mind what's happened during his time in office, and the man he has earmarked as his "successor" could things get any worse?

Would the election of obama or hillary make anything better?

And finally, is there any real viable alternative to the system which has basically become a two party system - i.e. is there any other candidate not affiliated to the two main party's that has even a snowballs chance in hell?

This is it.

Mainstream Media has picked them out for us.

McCain/Obama..

It was going to be Hillary on the Dem side. But she is no longer their darling, and no longer gets a free pass as she once did.

McCain stands a chance, due to Democratic infighting. He may inherit Hillary's support when she loses. Or, if by chance Obama loses, he may get a lot of those votes. That's how divided the Democratic party is.

As far as third party..I don't see any candidate with a large support base.

Ron Paul would probably do well as a third party guy..But he says "I have no plans" to run on another ticket..Notice that he did not say NO, He just says he has no plans..

Although it is unlikely to win the election there is another option
The Write-in Vote

In 1992, consumer advocate Ralph Nader ran a write-in campaign for President of the United States in the New Hampshire primary. Declaring himself the "none of the above candidate" and using the Concord Principles as his platform, Nader received 3,054 votes from Democrats and 3,258 votes from Republicans.
In 1964, a write-in campaign organized by supporters of former U.S. Senator and vice presidential nominee Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. won Republican primaries for President in New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, defeating declared candidates Barry Goldwater, Nelson Rockefeller, and Margaret Chase Smith.
In 1920, Eugene V. Debs, a staunch socialist who had been convicted by the Espionage Act of 1917 for an anti-war speech that he made in Columbus, Ohio. In 1918, ran a write-in campaign from his federal prison cell in Atlanta, and received almost a million popular votes out of approximately 26 million cast. This is the most votes a Socialist Party candidate has ever received in US history.

en.wikipedia.org...
also

Vote Write In for Ron Paul 2008
Official site advocating Ron Paul and his Presidential bid in 2008; And, in the event that Ron Paul doesn't win the Republican nomination, we propose all Ron Paul supporters enter his name as a write-in candidate vote.

votewritein.blogspot.com...
Just my humble opinion, but if you do this you should get a reciept for your vote as well, to guard against a "miss count".