Headlined on 7/7/08 at opednews.com:
McKinney Poised to Challenge Obama For Left-Wing and Black Voters

by Vivian Berryhill

As Senator Barack Obama continues pivoting away from those primary-election positions and promises that once galvanized his Democratic base, he may have a new worry looming on the horizon in the person of Cynthia McKinney. A former Georgia Congresswoman, McKinney is said to be a shoo-in as the Green Party\\\'s 2008 presidential nominee when their convention is held in Chicago, July 10-12.

Securing the Green Party\\\'s 2008 standard-bearer position would bestow on McKinney the historic title of \\\'first\\\' African American woman to be on the ballot as a viable candidate of a major party for President of the United States. That title alone will not only lessen the aura surrounding Barack Obama\\\'s position as the \\\'first\\\' African American male presidential nominee, but she may also siphon off just-enough left-wing, African American, and women voters, to sink both their chances for victory in the Fall.

Obama, in his quest to appeal to Reagan Republicans and Independents, is gravitating toward a more \\\'centrist\\\' position of late, which is causing serious ire among many of his followers, and those who supported and believed in his pre-General election message. And McKinney, being the shrewed politician she has always been, is set to capitalize on the Obama backlash. Recently issuing the following statement, McKinney\\\'s camp unashamedly challenges progressives/liberals who are disappointed in Obama:


\\\"There can be no effective reasoning with those African Americans who want only that a member of \\\'The Race\\\' occupy the Oval Office - no matter the character and politics of that Black individual. But self-described progressives of all races cannot excuse their own docility in the face of Obama\\\'s rightward lunge - especially when there exists one last opportunity to threaten the Democratic nominee-to-be with a backlash against his betrayals of progressive principles - one last chance to affect Obama\\\'s behavior before Election Day, November 4, and beyond. Cynthia McKinney.

It\\\'s time for people claiming to be progressives who supported Obama, to accept that they were bamboozled by a champion slickster. Actually, that\\\'s putting the best face on the situation, since most of Obama\\\'s progressive credentials were simply wished into existence by folks who were tired of even pretending to fight. Obama now dares to drop all pretense of progressivism, trusting that there will be no ramifications on the Left, especially among the otherwise most dependable progressive constituency, African Americans\\\".