Much has been made of the "middle" role CNN has taken in the cable news landscape. The position was made evident today in a new segment on American Morning. CNN contributor John Avlon (author of "Independent Nation") will name two people "wingnuts" each week — one from the left and one from the right. This week's picks: Cynthia McKinney and Michele Bachman.

He explained in a blog post on CNN.com. "It builds on a simple premise — the far-right and the far-left are equally insane," he wrote. "What's a Wingnut? It's someone on the far-right wing or far-left wing of American politics — the professional partisans and the unhinged activists — the folks who always try to divide rather than unite."

Check out the premiere segment below (via, via):