Barack Obama Seems to Be Being Clever...
President-Elect Barack Obama says that he welcomes Joe Lieberman's continued presence in the caucus of the Democrats in the Senate:
The Washington Monthly: President-elect Barack Obama has endorsed keeping Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) in the Democratic caucus, suggesting to the leadership that the two sides reach a compromise in the conflict over the former Democratic vice presidential nominee's future, sources said yesterday. In a phone conversation last week with Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), Obama said that expelling Lieberman for his support of the Republican presidential ticket would send the wrong signal after Obama's promises to set partisanship aside, according to a Senate Democratic aide familiar with the conversation...
This makes it very clear to everybody that if Joe Lieberman joins the Republican caucus it is his own doing: that if Lieberman leaves the Democrats it is Lieberman who will be breaking his promises to the voters of Connecticut, rather than the Democrats who are throwing Lieberman out.
It seems to me Barack Obama has just eliminated any bargaining power Lieberman had vis-a-vis Harry Reid with respect to his committee assignments...
