With Friends Like These ...

ACORN's registration problems gave area Democrats a queasy feeling. Phil LeVota, executive director of the Jackson County Democratic Party, says he applauds ACORN's efforts, but he can't shake the notion that ACORN has teed up a hole-in-one for cranky types who want to make it harder for people to vote — for example, by requiring photo IDs. "The sound bite is great: It's like they're registering Elmwood Cemetery!"

Patrick McInerney, a Kansas City lawyer who helped Democrats watch to make sure this election was clean, rolled his eyes when the Strip ran into him on Election Day and mentioned ACORN. "It's one thing when you shoot yourself in the foot," he said. "It's another thing when you aim. And that's what happened here."

Voter-fraud bogeyman sightings have already been reported. A week before the election, Michael Jensen, the publisher of the Standard Democrat in Sikeston, Missouri, wrote that the indictment of the former ACORN workers represented "just the tip of the iceberg."

Rest assured, Jensen told his readers, "There will be a law on the books to address this issue before the next election rolls around."

Sad thing is, the Strip believes him.