The Descent of Joe Lieberman

From being a Vice Presidential candidate to having articles regularly written about him wondering if he will abandon the Democrats for the Republicans. Such as today's effort by Rich Galen.

Lieberman has shown himself to be a man of principle in not switching parties in spite of his Democratic colleagues dancing on what they thought was his political grave.

But you might start watching for the signs. I suspect that before this year is out Joe Lieberman (I-Conn) will still be an independent, but he will be caucusing with the Republican majority in the US Senate.

You have to take Galen seriously, he was both Dan Quayles and Newt Gingrich's press secretary.

Well, maybe you don't have to take him that seriously.

But still the question he asks is a relevant one. Will Lieberman stay in a party that will be more liberal and particularly more anti war this next year? After all the campaign is going to set the tone of the Discourse within the Republican Party, and the Democrats are going to have to play to a base that wants this war acknowledged as a mistake and wants to see substantive resistance to it.

And of course that puts them out of step with Lieberman who wants us to follow George W. Bush respectfully and wants us to support war in Iran. Yeah, Iraq's worked out so well, Lieberman is keen on replicating our success elsewhere. And I think it's going to be a pretty frosty day down below before Democrats, particularly the base, do that.

So I hate to see it, but I can see Lieberman walking; I hope he doesn't but I wouldn't be surprised if he does.