Maybe there is something to this 6/6/06 numerological weirdness after all. The mood seems dark and sinister for an election day. And it was certainly some devilish characters who have shut our Web site down all day with a denial of service attack. We don't know which ones, but the likely suspect list should start with those affiliated with candidates that we didn't endorse in close races: Fiona Ma, Mike Nevin, Lillian Sing, Steve Westly, and the downtown players gunning for Chris Daly's propositions. I'm not accusing anyone of anything. I'm just saying it was someone, and probably someone who knows how influential Guardian endorsements have been in the past.

Let the conspiracy theories commence! We're seeing an unlikely cabal formed by Ma, Nevin and Sing approaching the deep-pocketed Westly with a simple proposal: "Get in touch with your old buddies in Silicon Valley, bankroll an attack on the Guardian, and you'll have the Bay Area in your pocket against Angelides -- the progressives will have no idea who to vote for without their precious endorsements!" We can see them all cackling over highballs and stroking long-haired cats now...

Besides, the ever-plucky Guardian simply rerouted traffic to their politics blog. Welcome to the party, guys! Glad this fancy new digital technology came through for y'all in a pinch. Was it a dirty trick or coincidental distaster? We may never know. Either way, the four candidates mentioned above went two-for-four, with Ma and Sing winning handily. The Guardian did go three-for-four on local propositions though, with Measure A losing by a scant 1,000 or so votes. Hmmmm, maybe the attack was by the pro-homicide opponents of the measure -- that would be their style, after all.