Mighty Weeds from Tiny ACORNs Grow

Well, this morning's Star Tribune included a short campaign roundup story on Obama's call for a special prosecutor into the trumped-up ACORN controversy. I suppose that may be necessary, although I doubt it could move fast enough to actually convince anyone rabid enough to believe the right-wing line in the first place.

The Strib also had a very thoughtful editorial calling for careful scrutiny of ACORN's actions, but also of all of the attempts at voter suppression around the country. It pointed out that the whole ACORN problem could have been avoided if we had a national law like the one Minnesota recently passed, which prohibits paying workers for each completed registration card. All of this makes me think of Freakonomics and the (unintended) effect of incentives... no one in ACORN's leadership meant to get bad registration cards, but their payment system led to some being created, and then the law required them to turn them all in.

A special prosecutor seems like a waste of money and effort in economic times like these, but if that's what it takes to sink this Swift Boat, so be it.

LATE ADDITION: Check out this video of McCain at an ACORN event in Miami in 2006. Is this the same man? Maybe he was replaced by aliens while he slept.

P.S. -- I've finally given in and made a category for Election 2008. I've had so many posts on this topic recently, even though I really didn't intend to...but that's what's in the filing cabinet these days!.