Her platform, called the "Green New Deal" after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal, aims to create jobs while promoting environmental sustainability. "There's a wonderful win-win here," she said. "We can put people back to work in the same way we did with the Great Depression by creating community-based living-wage jobs."

While Obama and Romney rail at each other, to an outsider's eye each is nearly indistinguishable from the other, Stein said.

"We need an independent political party to help articulate the vision and the demands (of the people) and drive them into the political agenda," Stein said. "Without our voices, it's just a battle of public relations campaigns funded by Wall Street".... "We need to take the money out of politics," she said....

So far, Stein will be on the ballot in 23 states and the District of Columbia – enough to win 344 electoral votes and the presidency if she won every one. She's qualified for taxpayer-financed campaign funds in 22 states. She's still fighting to get on other state ballots. "This is how ruling parties silence the political opposition," she said. "They make it almost impossible to be a factor, to be on the ballot"....

Stein's strong anti-war stance also attracts some support in the military.

"There's a difference between supporting the military and supporting an over-bloated military," said Army Spc. Mason Bliss, 21, of Ocean City, N.J., who's served in Afghanistan. "The war against global terrorism can be done in an entirely different manner that doesn't require trillions of dollars . . . dumped into wasteful programs....

"I realized the whole two-party system wasn't working," Bliss said. "Instead of voting for the lesser of two evils, I wanted to not participate in that. I wanted to vote for a third party. I understand it's almost impossible odds for her to win the election, but I'm not going to participate in something that's dragging the country down."