Lieberman

Obviously if you place the Democratic Candidates in relation to where they stand politically, Lieberman stands all the way on the right--nearest the center. He supported and still supports the war on Iraq, although he has criticized President Bush for not committing enough troops to get the job done. He has been very critical of Bush domestically, but from a more centrist position than most of his competitors.

Still he does have an image problem, as William Saletan at Slate Magazine points out. "One of the comedies of the 2004 campaign is watching all the candidates other than Dean claim to be angry when they clearly aren't. Lieberman just happens to be the least convincing of them. I share the anger of my fellow Democrats, he croaks faintly. The impersonation is miserably weak. If you got into a fender bender with Dean, and he got out of his car and started walking toward you, you'd be afraid he was going to hit you. If, on the other hand, you looked up and saw that the guy approaching your car was Lieberman, you'd ease up and roll down your window."

This is a problem, and one of the reasons Kerry or Edwards has a better shot at being the moderate counter to Dean. Still it's a litle early; other candidates have blossomed on the stump; perhaps Lieberman will join their ranks.