The cool part about it now is that the candidates themselves are limited by public finance laws when running for office. Unless of course they opt out of them but there’s only been 1 candidate to do that so far (Obama). Any additional adverts and campaigning is done by third parties, which isn’t really that good but it shows which side has a more dedicated following. If McCain wins it will prove that money isn’t everything in electioneering and if Obama wins it will be the end of public financing of elections.
And yes, you’re right about the time being ripe for a third party. Tbh I’m surprised there isn’t a major third party candidate running this time but it’s too late now to get into the race. Had one come along late June they could have wiped the floor with both parties. It’s too late now as both parties seem to have rallied around their respective candidates. I doubt if they’ll get enough to challenge a major party but over the next decade the independents (which are traditionally democrat voters in disguise) may actually start to fight for their own beliefs instead of someone else’s.