Which side of the debate will look good through the prism of history?

Why do seemingly intelligent and otherwise reasonable people give credence to whacked-out conspiracy theories and alarmist messages of death panels, illegitimate presidents, reds under the bed, etc., etc.?

More than any other time in my living memory, we have been witness to the transmutation of crazy fringe ideas into mainstream info-tainment as late-night, oxycontin-inspired rants, set up a clash of civilizations as they make their way from the hate-filled blogosphere to the morning news and prime time TV.

At the Rally for Sanity this past weekend, Jon Stewart attempted to make America aware of the crazy. The Daily Show does a good job of this on a day-to-day basis by simply juxtaposing the ranters against themselves as they say stupid shit, in their own words and then contradict themselves with even more stupid shit.

There's not really a point to this, other than to say, as I vote I'll be thinking about how rational and sane my chosen candidate has appeared to be during this, the silly season.