Lieberman To Endorse McCain?

Matt Margolis

According to FOX News contributor Bill Kristol, Senator Joe Lieberman is set to endorse John McCain for President.

Assuming this is true, there’s a lot to be said about this.

First, considering Joe Lieberman was once the Democratic nominee for Vice President, and also ran for president as a Democrat, this endorsement speaks volumes about not only the current slate of Democratic candidates for president, but also the Democratic Party.

No one can say that Lieberman is just getting back at the Democratic Party for not sticking behind him when he ran for reelection to the Senate, because he has still be caucusing with the Democrats in the Senate. So, despite the enormous insult he received from the Democratic Party, he still remains somewhat loyal to them. But clearly, this endorsement is a rejection of the Democratic Party being increasingly beholden to the radical anti-war MoveOn.org wing of the party.

But, clearly this isn’t just an endorsement of a Republican candidate, this is a rejection of the Democratic Party’s candidates and their defeatist views on the war on terror. If Lieberman thought any of the current Democratic nominees were capable of effectively leading the war on terror then he would endorse one of them.

This also brings up a the possibility that Lieberman could be willing to join the ticket of the Republican nominee, whether the nominee is McCain or not. That would be an interesting situation, and easily help the ticket appeal to independent voters and moderate Democrats.

Will it help McCain? I would say it helps him less in the primaries than it would in the general election, but it certainly doesn’t hurt him. It certainly makes him appear to be the candidate that can win over more independents and moderate voters, and if that is something important to primary voters it can certainly give him a boost.

It’s just too bad that if Lieberman is endorsing a Republican that he hasn’t made the switch to caucus with Republicans in the Senate. Most importantly, our troops would be getting the funds they need.