"Judas" Lieberman? and His Hawkish, Hawkish Ways

"My Old Boss, the Man Dems Love to Loathe. Some of Joe Lieberman's greatest hits from the decade I worked for him." is the title of an article in the August 31^st Washington Post by Bill Andresen, who was Lieberman's chief of staff from 1993-2003.

Andresen begins:

"I won't have floor seats this time. But that's not the only thing that will have changed when my former boss, Sen. Joe Lieberman, addresses the nominating convention of a major political party this week.

He'll be at a different party entirely."

He is referring to the fact that Lieberman is scheduled to address the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, which is in keeping with Lieberman's strong support for John McCain for President. Lieberman used to be a Democrat, but after narrowly

losing the Democratic primary for Senator in 2006 to anti-war candidate Ned Lamont, he ran as an Independent and was re-elected. He is part of the Democratic caucus in the Senate.

Andresen also states:

"While the Internet has had many positive effects on the political process ... the anger and vitriol that too often characterize the politics of the online community have had much to do with the decline in civil political rhetoric. Because elected officials feel compelled to cater to one side, and its online echo chamber, they all too often say only what their online world wants to hear. That's a difficult thing to do when you're Joe Lieberman, a man who doesn't fit into anyone's neat categories. ... "

So what is my reaction to the above comments? First. I couldn't agree more with Andresen's assertion about the negative- shall I call it bipolar? - effect of the Internet when it comes to political discourse. One of my main objectives as a blogger is to help calm the extant rancor and shrillness.

Second. I for one still love Joe Lieberman, despite his hawkish stance on Iraq. And let's not forget, he's always been a hawk. When he was first elected to the Senate in 1988, his opponent, Republican incumbent Lowell Weicker, was the dove. His voting record otherwise is that of a liberal Democrat. His caucusing with the Democrats has allowed them to maintain control of the Senate.

I believe that Lieberman's "hands on" support for John McCain, which includes traveling with him and occasionally whispering in his ear, has more to do with his over-sized ego (what politician doesn't have one?) and need for attention than anything else. An editorial in March in Connecticut's The Day titled "We Don't Know This Sen. Joe" had a somewhat humorous take on this, stating in part:

"[T]he junior Connecticut senator is not only backing the Republican nominee for the presidency, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, but appears to be making a contest of trying to get into every photo and TV news video with him. ... Rather than building the bridges The Day expected when it endorsed Sen. Lieberman, he appears busy burning bridges with the party of which he is allegedly still a member. Perhaps the senator is positioning himself for a top cabinet post in a McCain presidency. ..."

I believe that Lieberman is sincere in his support for McCain, and that he is not being driven by a desire to be in a McCain Cabinet. He has paid dearly for the path he has taken. Now, if Lieberman had been picked as McCain's running mate, and had jettisoned his core liberal beliefs in the process, then THAT would be a betrayal, and we would be entitled to call him "Judas" Lieberman. But, as things stand now, he doesn't deserve to have his character attacked, and his entire record trashed (or most of it anyway) by the Left, because of his hawkish, hawkish ways.