With fewer than six months until the presidential election, American voters are presented with the worst choice of candidates in a century.

In an ideal world, there would be something calming and reassuring about deciding between a current president and a former one. Either could do the job from day one.

But in this world, having to pick between Joe Biden and Donald Trump feels like being forced to choose between arsenic and cyanide. Both are deeply flawed candidates who spend more time talking down the other guy than talking up their accomplishments.

This year, we can expect third-party candidates to do better than usual.

For instance, the independent candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is doing just fine, despite growing opposition from both major parties. Kennedy has been attacked by liberals such as MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, and by conservatives such as Fox News’ Sean Hannity. And the piling on seems to have made him only more popular with voters.