The Lieberman Factor

Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman is hinting once again that his vote cannot be taken for granted.
Says Lieberman: "I'm not going to make my selection of who to support for president in '08 based on party. I'm going to choose to support whichever of the candidates I think will be the best president of the United States to protect our security against the threat of Islamist terrorism and to rebuild America's economy, health care system, environment and education system."

Lieberman made the comments on ABC’s This Week while praising McCain and Giuliani. Lieberman also said that Hillary, Obama, and Edwards are opposing the war due to the power and pull of “vested interest groups within the left.”

Lieberman has remarked that he remains open to endorsing the Republican candidate for president in ’08 and is even candid on rumors that he may join the Republican party and switch control of the Senate over to the Republicans.

"But the big issue of differentiation is on security," he says. "I want to stress that I don't have any desire or intention to leave the Democratic caucus and go to the Republican caucus. On the other hand, it's not impossible. And if it would happen, it would be around questions related to Iraq and the war on terrorism."

Look for Lieberman to be an influential factor in the ’08 race—his endorsement may help make or break the Dems in key battleground states like NH, MO, MN, WI, IA, MI, NJ, and PA.

When I was working in the Senate for Brownback, Lieberman once joked how most of his interns were Republicans (and this was before his party abandoned him). Lieberman’s principled leadership, independence, and refusal to tow the party line (Lieberman was one of the few Dems to vote for Clinton’s impeachment) demonstrated the far-left shift of the Democratic party, their inability to tolerate any dissent in their ranks, and the power wielded by a statesman who is courted by both sides.