Our 44th President

Fred Thompson is so three hours ago. Via Ballot Access News comes new info about former Rep. Cynthia McKinney, last seen punching a Capitol Hill cop and then losing re-election:

On May 25, former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney participated in a 23-minute interview on Radio Station WBAI. The hosts asked her about the possibility that she may seek the Green Party presidential nomination in 2008. She said, "With the failure of the Democratic Congress to repeal the Patriot Act, the Secret Evidence Act, the Military Tribunals Act, I have to seriously question my relationship with the Democratic Party. The idea has not been ruled out. All the current Democrats running for president support the principle of potential military action against Iran; none of them is for impeachment of the President. They can't speak for me. I am open to a lot of ideas in 2008."

Please note that she includes "impeachment of the president" among her potential campaign planks—sure to be a pressing issue when the next election's over and Bush is no longer president.

UPDATE: I found the question and answer from the 5/25/07 episode of Free Speech Radio News. McKinney is asked about her Wikipedia entry and how it lists her as a possible 2008 candidate.

You know, I have on my kitchen table, I have a button that was printed in 2000. And it was printed by the Green Party, they were talking about me running as a Green. So I have had a very long relationship with the Green Party. And I think, honestly, with the failure of the Democratic majority in Congress to repeal the PATRIOT Act, to repeal the Secret Evidence Act, to repeal the Military Tribunals Act, to not institute immediately actions of impeachment against this illegitimate, illegal and immoral administration, stop the war, I have to seriously question my relationship with the Democratic Party. I know that the very learned listeners of WBAI have long been interested in how to have a truly independent voice. I understand now that with the current Democratic majority in Congress that's not possible.

The host asks a question about Mumia abu Jamal (of course) but McKinney veers back.

Rather than talk about what other candidates don't do, what I could probably rather talk about is what I could do as a potential candidate. So, you know, 2008 has not been ruled out, some kind of effort. Certainly now it is questionable as to whether that effort would come under the banner of the Democratic Party. There's no way that with the current crop of candidates who are all supporting a military action against Iran and who none of them support impeachment. They can not speak for me any longer.

So, why not McKinney? She courted the Green Party's 2004 nomination after she lost her 2002 congressional primary. She only quelled the speculation after her victorious opponent decided to run for the U.S. Senate, opening up the House seat again, paving the way for McKinney to return (as a Democrat). The Greens proceeded to implode on the national stage: Ralph Nader declined to run for their nomination and then got angry when they didn't give it to him, staging an independent bid and splitting the Green vote (which was only about 1/5 the size of their 2000 vote, anyway). To win the 2008 nomination Cynthia McKinney would need only break the spell that animates Nader's still-limber zombie body then fend off Black Panther alum Elaine Brown and Milton from Office Space.

Remaining questions:

1: Would McKinney get more or fewer votes than Nader did in 2004?
1a: Would the Libertarian candidate actually win fewer votes than her? Her? Really?
2: Would a McKinney candidacy make the LP look, by the mainstream media's lights, like the serious third party?