A vote for Johnson instead of for Shillary would help Trump. I can see that, since Johnson cannot win
I can see that working the other way around also.
Those who would not vote for Trump under any circumstances are beyond my hope of persuasion.
That group would include capital hill fiefdom protecting RINOs of the worst elite most selfish sort.

He needs to get more philosophically consistent and then make a stand in about 20 years at least. In the meantime, do speaking engagements and deal in education instead of politics.

I have to say that if invited to have a private meeting with Johnson, I would take him up on it. If invited by Obama or Hillary, I would laugh and NEVER taken them up on it. I would like to meet with Trump's kids, and perhaps even Trump. Maybe John Stossel too. Not a lot of people really. This election has gotten me to dump all the 'friends' I had who have come out for Hillary. They arent my friends really. I would appreciate it if all Hillary supporters had to wear armbands or a big "H" on their backs so I would know who my real enemies are.

No he can't throw the race toward Hillary. Polls have consistently shown Gary Johnson drawing more votes from Hillary than from Trump.

Gary Johnson is getting sufficient traction that he is being attacked by Kaine and other Democrats.

The Libertarian Party is concentrating on both education and winning votes, and has been doing so since its founding. Many Libertarians are officeholders at the local level, and the LP has won a few state legislative races over the years. We have one state assemblyman in Nevada now, a converted Republican.

I do have to hand it to Johnson for at least trying to stem the tide of socialism. He never had a chance in such a socialist society to get anywhere, however. If he had the charisma of a great leader, PLUS a consistent libertarian ideology, he might get somewhere. Look at the reception Trump gets from the establishment today with only a weak presentation of some libertarian ideas. Johnson would be decimated for presenting even more libertarian ideas.

You might consider that a change in our culture from socialism to capitalism is going to take many decades, and we need the time to accomplish a lot of education in the basis of capitalism. Trying to force feed people with capitalist ideas in a political arena will only bring out more propaganda and hatred from the left that will need to be fought against. Better, I think, to concentrate on education and NOT politics for quite a while.

Gary Johnson is diverting more votes from Hillary than from Trump. Would you rather he didn't?

My comment months ago was that Johnson was intellectually inconsistent and a buffoon. In any case, he would be better than any of the candidates IF he had a snowball's chance of election in this culture. But he doesnt. This has degenerated into a very socialist and statist culture, and it will take decades of education to show enough people the basis of freedom to win in a mob rule election. The libertarian party should concentrate on education, and not expect to win some political election for a long while.

Look at the beating Trump has taken for having only a few ideas against the leftist establishment !!! Imagine what Johnson would face IF he actually got some traction. He would be carved up and thrown to the wolves.

We know by now that Johnson is a mixed bag. But the most important thing is that he cannot win. Maybe in 8 years if he works very hard and raises lots of money. If he diverts enough votes, he will help us to get, a liberal supreme court, open borders, influx of radical Muslems, a continuation of Obamacare until we get a one payer system, a weaker military, fewer middle class jobs, more taxes, more regulations, just for starters. Oh, Goody!

NO, he is certainly not nearly the answer.
And since Hillary needs to be thwarted by a Rep. Congress, it would not help to be voting for other Libertarians.

Voting for Johnson does not automatically help Hillary. Many Republican and Independent supporters of Johnson would not vote for Trump under any circumstances, and many Democrat supporters of Johnson would vote for Hillary if Johnson were not in the race. On balance, Johnson's presence in the race is helping Trump. That's why Hillary's campaign has stepped up its attacks on Johnson in recent weeks.

Not sure Gary Johnson is "The Answer"...but I am going to vote for several Libertarian candidates (Proud supporter of JackForND.com).

As I've said in other comments, I really wish the "Good Ol' Boys" would allow others to debate, even if it was just in the first scheduled Presidential debate. Let the American people know that there IS indeed an alternative. After that, they can use their 10-15% polling to determine whether the candidate has the political moxy to survive for the long haul. I've often said, that if you believe you have the best platform/ideas, you should not be afraid of debating ANY competitor, Right D's & R's?

McMullin

As Objectivists, it is not our business to concern ourselves with which candidates Johnson helps to win or lose. That is the way of the pragmatist, not that of the principled American. Rather, it is our business to look at the depths of our own souls and to vote as conscience dictates

Voting is about improving freedom and saving the country. It is not about perfect philosophical consistency. From that perspective, Johnson is a joy. A breath of sanity, adulthood, honesty and openness! God knows he is no Objectivist for many reasons. But who do you believe at bottom is most likely to improve our lives and our freedoms? Johnson, Clinton, or Trump?

hi scary! nice to meet you. I think Johnson throws votes to Trump. so can you back up your analysis? enjoy the Gulch!

Gary Johnson isn't even the question, much less the answer. The time to start supporting Johnson, if you are hell-bent on doing so, is November 9. That gives you 4 years to get some support under him. He can't win now ... and he knows it. But he CAN throw the race toward Hillary ... something Sanders couldn't deliver.

Johnson is not the answer because he will lose.
Voting for him only helps Shillary become the best crooked president money can bribe to the detriment of the American people.
Besides that, Shillary's Supreme Court picks are guaranteed to shred the Constitution perhaps for a generation.
And this country could very well go to a very bad place it may never come back from.

It's true he's a little goofy for a presidential candidate.
The comical behavior - I wonder how many interviews he gives each day to get the few when did something really goofy like sticking out his tongue or getting on the floor.

The question about Aleppo - In normal conversation, we give people cues when they're not making an association. When Johnson asked what's Aleppo, the interviewer could have said, "I mean the city," instead of implying Johnson had no idea what he was talking about.

Denying climate change - He wasn't denying climate change. He says we need a market-based approach, and he's rightly skeptical of any gov't intervention. He's not giving a scientific or philosophical answer. He's talking to a country where some people want to use the problem to promote their own agendas and where others ignorantly deny the problem.

The wedding cake - He said he didn't want to use his position to change laws to allow more discrimination. If he were starting with a blank slate, he'd leave everyone free to bake cakes for whomever they want and to use whatever special ingredients they want.

The left/right thing - I believe he's truly not into it. This is something politicians use to raise money and get elected. He hasn't needed to use it, and it's not on his radar as much as it is for politicians from other geographical areas.

Monetary/fiscal policy - He's the only candidate on the ballot in all states who has made this an issue. Trump and Clinton mostly ignore the problem.

Pretty much sums up the frustration most have with Johnson.

While I like Gary Johnson on a lot of things, he misses just enough that it is hard to support him. He governs better than he philosophizes.