Kerry on Lieberman's position in the Dem caucus: "I can't tell you what happens next year."

[beachmom]

Oh, please, JK, don't tease me. :)

Here is the whole article on Democrats getting seriously irked by Lieberman:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g6qFnGB0A_Sm02M6_ul4uHSrBCzwD91AIUPG1

Lieberman irks Democrats by criticizing Obama
By ANDREW MIGA – 6 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Lieberman is fast becoming the Democrats' public enemy No. 1.

The four-term Connecticut senator, who came tantalizingly close to being Al Gore's vice president in 2000, not only has been campaigning for his pal, presumed Republican nominee John McCain, now he's publicly criticizing the Democrats' standard-bearer, Barack Obama. Lieberman has strayed before, most notably switching from Democrat to independent in 2006 to hold onto his Senate seat after a Democratic primary loss.

But the latest betrayal has upset Democrats, who often answer in clipped but polite tones when asked about Lieberman. The reason: The independent still caucuses with the Democrats on most issues except the Iraq war, and he holds their slim political majority in his hands.

"There's a commonly held hope that he's not going to be transformed into an attack dog for Republicans," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., an Obama supporter.

...

Later that day, during a budget vote in the Senate, Obama led Lieberman to a corner of the Senate floor for a pointed private conversation. Without elaborating, Obama told reporters the chat was about politics. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., had a similar private conversation with Lieberman.

For his part, Lieberman said he assured Obama he would avoid personal attacks.

"I said, and we agreed, that any time I get out there mostly I'm going to be talking positively about John McCain — and anytime I would take issue with Barack Obama, it would never be personal because I have the highest regard for him personally," he said.

Still, Democrats were irked. Lieberman seemed to be breaking new ground — shifting gears from simply promoting McCain to taking shots at Obama.

"I'm glad that Barack Obama had a direct conversation with Joe," Sen. Dick Durbin, Obama's fellow Illinois senator, told reporters. "I hope that Joe will realize that even though he's a friend of John McCain's and feels differently on the war, there are so many other issues Barack stands for that have been a part of Joe's career."

All very, very interesting ....

[beachmom]

1. Also here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6366354

[wisteria]

2. There shouldn't be just hope- the Dem's should insist that he say nothing in public

and work for McCain behind the scenes. I really fear he is going to be this elections Zell Miller. And, frankly, Lieberman should be respectful and appreciative that he retained his leadership positions. Is this any way to repay his colleagues by emoting for McCain and putting down the Democrat nominee? He can back whomever he chooses, but he knows that his prominent support of McCain is going to become a talking point for the Repubs and an excuse for those who want to find any fault at all with Obama. Lieberman is a frequent guest of Hannity, I know he will be asked to appear on that radio show in support of McCain. Is he going to turn it down- I highly doubt it, he uses his support of the war effort as an excuse.
Does anyone know what we have really won in the Senate these past two years with Lieberman's vote? I think we should be done with him. IMO, it is wishful thinking that he will not become a talking point against Obama and free support for Repubs. We should not take any chances on him this election. The stakes are too high.