Why a two party system?

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I do a lot of reading and the one thing I have discovered from reading message boards, blogs, etc... is that most peoples ideals don't fall under either a Republican or Democrat category. I find more often than not that most people fall on a different side of the fence depending on the issue. I always supported the idea of voting on the issues and not even knowing the name of the candidate running. It would make a lot more sense. Isn't that what we want collectively, someone in office that believes in the same things we believe in? So many people vote on either one thing like abortion or a health plan etc... and never really consider all the other things the candidate stands for that they may not even agree with. This is pretty scary because if knowledge is power and you don't educate yourself on all the facts as a voter you become very dangerous. Worse yet some people vote based on the appearance or stature etc.. of the candidate. This has little to do with platforms or ideas. It doesn't make sense to vote that way but it does happen all the time. The question I want to ask is as follows: How many of you vote strictly by party affiliation? How many of you vote for the guy you think would be the best to have over for a BBQ and a cold beer? How many of you vote for the right person for the job regardless of anything other than the their platform?