"We need to know the full extent of Senator Obama's relationship with ACORN, who is now on the verge of maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history in this country, maybe destroying the fabric of democracy."

When Senator McCain said this, several of the people I was watching the debate with laughed out loud -- but I was really taken aback.  There may be a few people out there who sincerely believe that ACORN is a threat to the fabric of democracy -- but most of those people also believe that Senator Obama was raised in a vat by the Bilderbergers, and will immediately institute Muslim Commu-Terrorism when elected.  It's the sort of lunatic gibberish one doesn't ordinarily hear in a Presidential debate.  So what's going on here?

I can only think of two possibilities:  either Senator McCain has gone entirely off the rails, and should be encouraged to check into some sort of quiet, restful facility for his own safety; or the Republicans are laying the groundwork for an election challenge.  If the latter is the case, then McCain's job at this point is to keep the vote close enough to make a challenge plausible, while sewing as much doubt as he can about the integrity of the process.

At the risk of venturing into tinfoil-hat territory myself, I have to say I think we need to take this possibility seriously.  Watch out for a rash of ostentatiously apprehended "ACORN agents" voting under false names on election day.  Then, if the vote in Ohio or Florida comes in with a very tight margin, and the state is enough to tip the electoral balance, watch for a couple weeks of agonized hand wringing over whether to challenge the election or nobly let it go for the sake of the country, as Nixon pretended to do.

Then watch for the lawsuits.