A voter of conscience, in a normal year, could go for Johnson and feel O.K. about it. But this year, in a tight election, any vote by an independent or a Democrat for Johnson could burden that citizen with a lifetime of guilt for handing the world over to Trump. His presidency could “lead to the end of civilization,” as his own ghostwriter, Tony Schwartz has said.

Commendably, Johnson has stopped using pot during his run for the White House. “I want to be completely on my game,” he says. But too often, he offers the stoner shrug when asked what he stands for, saying you should just Google him. When you Google him, you’re likely to find something about pot and Googling him.

That’s not a serious campaign. But again, I find Johnson personally refreshing, as he showed with his reaction to the Syria gaffe, saying that his response had removed “any doubt that I’m human.” And I’m assuming that Johnson is taking away slightly more votes from Hillary Clinton than from Trump. But if you’re leaning toward Trump, by all means make the switch to the affable Gary Johnson.

Well then, what about Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate? She’s polling in the low single digits, but she still might get more votes than the 2.9 million that Ralph Nader received in 2000. You remember those Nader voters who insisted there was no difference between Al Gore and George W. Bush. The world is a far sadder, far more tragic place, in part because the Naderites helped to tip the balance to a man who, like Trump, is cocksure of only one thing — his ignorance. Forget about the mess of Florida. In just one state, New Hampshire, the Nader vote was enough to give the presidency to Bush.