Cynthia McKinney -- back to the drawing board

Cynthia McKinney likes attention. And she's been good at getting it. I doubt I could identify more than 50 of the 435 members of the United States House of Representative by name and region, but McKinney from Atlanta comes pretty quickly.

She has earned her spot in my consciousness with antics such as continuously implying the Bush administration had something to do with 9/11, fraternizing with enemies of the United States, striking an officer of the law with a closed fist and pushing a theory that links the assassination of Martin Luther King to that of Jack and Robert Kennedy -- and possibly Tupac Shaker.

Further research into that intriguing deduction will have to go on without the resources of the Congressional Library because, on Tuesday, McKinney was defeated in the primary runoff for the seat she holds.

She tried her darndest to keep the spotlight in defeat by singing, and having her entourage go all Mel Gibson on the press. While Gibson's efforts grabbed headlines, McKinney's fizzled.

She can also blame a Jew -- fellow ousted incumbent Joe Lieberman, for her lack of primary press love.

McKinney isn't giving up. Now she has jumped on the Diebold bandwagon,* blaming the evil machines for her defeat.

We have heard this before, usually from the supporters of a candidate who has lost a close election. McKinney trailed her opponent by 18 points when all was said and done.

Consider this post an acknowledgment and appreciation of past wackiness. But if citizen McKinney ever wants to get another one she needs to do better than voter fraud in a blow-out election.

I wouldn't bet against her.

*The best part of this breathless, rambling report from the Atlanta Progressive News is they fail at any point to mention the 18 point margin.