Or is it Ralph Nader?

In the 12 hours after the election, "Spoiler Steve" Monks, the write-in Republican candidate who helped assure a victory for Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong, had heard it all.

He had received calls from crazy people, and some not so crazy, calling him an idiot, a moron, a ... well, those are the ones I can print.

Monks ended up drawing more than 11 percent of the vote, a distinct uptick from the poll showing him at 2 percent two weeks ago. (Of course, this was the same N&O/WRAL poll that predicted the Wake school bond referendum was in trouble).

But here's the kicker: Monks' votes, had they been added to Lewis "I will not serve if elected" Cheek's, would have been enough to unseat Nifong, wounded by his handling of the Duke lacrosse fiasco.

For those of us who predicted Monks would have just this sort of spoiler effect on the race, it was infuriating to see the numbers roll in.

A few of us have wondered, not so idly, whether Monks wasn't secretly assisting Nifong for some unknown reason. After Tuesday night, I have a different theory. (More on that at the end of the column.)

On Wednesday morning, despite the acrimony aimed his way, Monks said he thinks he was not, indeed, the spoiler. He is convinced his votes would not have gone in a block to Cheek.

"I knew there were a great number of people who wouldn't vote for someone who wouldn't serve," he said, "even though they perceived that Mike Nifong was doing a terrible job."

Monks said that instead of dumping on him, voters should reserve their rancor for Cheek.

Write-in candidates may historically have a snowball's chance in Hades of winning, but Cheek is the one who should have stepped down, Monks said.

(He does concede that the "R thing" -- Republican registration -- might have been a problem for him in the People's Republic.)

But if Cheek wasn't going to serve, Monks said, he should never have agreed to having his name on petitions to get his name on the ballot. On that point, I agree.

"If the Democrats had offered a credible candidate who would have served, I never would have entered the race," Monks said.

I asked Spoiler Steve, could you have handled any of this differently yourself?

In a word, no, Monks said.

"I'm comfortable in my own skin," he said. "My wife and kids love me."

Well, I thought, that's just perfect.

Nifong has adamantly defended his handling of the Duke lacrosse rape case.

And both Cheek and Monks say the other one is responsible for Nifong's return to office.

So guess what? A majority of Durham voters voted against Nifong. Yet Nifong won. And nobody is to blame.

Nifong must have giggled in his sleep Tuesday night.

But there is one person who has got to be even more delighted about Nifong regaining his seat than the district attorney himself:

Court TV's Nancy Grace.

Maybe that's who Monks was working for.