The question, "Should the United States use force to remove Saddam Hussein from power?" wasn't the problem on Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's Web site. The problem was the answers. Of 37,342 respondents, only 39.8 per cent agreed with the use of force. That's when the poll was yanked. Some mischief was certainly afoot. "As you know, government computers are constantly being attacked by hackers," a Frist spokesperson explained.

Frist's office claims that "clever computer programmers" had coded a foul 'bot to flood the poll with false votes. The fact that the page already blocked such potential subterfuge brought no comment, nor did the suggestion that the administrators simply exclude the votes from addresses they found suspicious in origin. The only clear answer comes in following the original link, which now points to an empty page graced with an image featuring Frist's wet smile. :

» Scott Saxon