Third Partying

Now that this election is over, we can do some more reflecting.  Below are the candidates, their party if any, percentage of the vote, total votes, and electoral votes.  (Full list)

Ralph Nader, EPF 1% 672,639 0
Bob Barr, Ind 0% 497,145 0
Chuck Baldwin, AKI 0% 179,016 0
Cynthia McKinney, Grn 0% 145,706 0
Alan Keyes, AIP 0% 36,113 0
Ron Paul, CST 0% 19,852 0
Gloria La Riva, Ind 0% 7,330 0
Roger Calero, Ind 0% 7,182 0
Brian Moore, Ind 0% 6,558 0

After hearing from all the people that said they were going to vote third party – and I think every single one of them made a point to speak to me – this is the result.  What message was sent?  Better yet, what are we to make of this?

a)  The Internet has a disproportionate number of kooks and is not reflective of the greater society.
b)  Many people were arguing in bad faith and calls to vote 3rd party were really just calls to get out of the way.
c)  We are not in a parliamentary system and calls to consider candidates from 3rd parties should not be taken seriously.

Discuss.