Dave (my staunchest defender!),
I think you are probably right that Ace is a Freeper because of the pointless nastiness of the post. I understand that these folks have been out in force lately, prowling the progressive websites. The UK indymedia and LA indymedia are especially infested because they get such a high number of hits. In fact, the LA indymedia had to shut down its commentary section temporarily due to disruptions from really aggressive Freeps.
The LA indy has come up with a good tactic, though. They identify the IP (I think that's the term) of the chronic disrupter (even if they try to use multiple screen names). Then when the person posts, a "flag" comes up after the post that states that "this message came from a source known to be a disruptive poster" or something to that effect.
I think these folks will become more aggressive as we get toward the election. Best advice is probably the same advice my mamma gave me about nasty people on the playground: Just ignore 'em and hope they go away!