On the Radar

Sunday's Dispatch:

And there is another Ohio race that isn’t yet on many analysts’ lists of competitive races, but is on the radar screen as one to watch — particularly if the political climate proves even worse than expected for Republicans nationally and in Ohio. Democrat Bob Shamansky, of Bexley, thus far has sunk $1 million into his race against GOP Rep. Pat Tiberi, of Genoa Township, in a central Ohio district that Bush won with 51 percent of the vote in 2004.

But Radar is not the technology on the minds of many. The subsequent (final) graf of the piece states:

But for those expecting to stay up late on election night to find out which party will control the House, a group of experts at Ohio State University’s law school last week offered a word of caution. If the balance of power hangs on many close races, potential problems with new electronic voting machines could cause weeks of delay before voters know whether Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert has to hand over his gavel to the top House Democrat, Nancy Pelosi, of California.

So, veering off course for a moment, I had a queasy vision reading this, a vision of a time, 100 days from now, where Right-Wing operatives sieze upon the Princeton study showing the vulnerability of Diebold machines to hacking, organize several local Brooks-Brothers Riots, and then declare a Mexican-Style Parallel Government.

Thanks, Dispatch, for the cheerful start you've given my week.