The kitchen sink is looking pretty rusty.

Not only is the latest attempt to derail Barack Obama’s momentum pathetic and desperate, it’s likely to backfire like so many others.

We expect better from the vaunted Clinton Machine - on many levels.

The picture of Barack Obama dressed in traditional African garments, taken during a visit to Kenya in 2006, mysteriously surfaced yesterday.

The Drudge Report posted the photo Monday and said it was circulated by “Clinton staffers,” quoting an unidentified campaign aide.

Offensive? Yes. Surprising? Sadly, not really from such cheap hacks.

Barack Obama, being a U.S. Senator from Illinois, was in Kenya on an official trip to learn how local tribes were organizing themselves.

During the course of the trip to Kenya, he was given an outfit and as the guest, they encouraged him to try some of it on and he did. That’s it.

Of course, we all know what whoever sent this hopes to stoke fears among ignorant idiots that Barack Obama is Muslim, which he is not.

The implication also is that being a Muslim somehow makes one unpatriotic at best, and an extremist at worst, which is almost more disturbing.

The Clinton camp denies circulating the photo.

Barack Obama, in an interview in San Antonio (the Texas primary is March 4), said voters are saddened when they see these kind of politics.

“The notion that the Clinton campaign would be trying to circulate this as a negative on the same day that Senator Clinton was giving a speech about how we repair our relationships around the world is sad.”

Obama’s campaign manager David Plouffe accused Clinton’s campaign of “the most shameful, offensive fear-mongering.”

Clinton campaign manager Maggie Williams said the Obama campaign’s reaction was inflaming passions and distracting voters.

In December, two Clinton volunteers resigned after forwarding a hoax e-mail that falsely claimed Barack Obama is a Muslim intent on destroying the U.S.

We have no proof that anyone connected with the Clinton campaign is behind this photo’s release, but would it surprise anyone?

Hey, when you have no message, no clear positions, no shame and no wins, why not throw everything against the wall and see what sticks?