WOULD THAT IT WERE. I fear Tom is looking deeper into the Clinton-Lieberman rally than is really needed. Word around here is that Holy Joe forced Hillary Clinton into something of a confessional on the floor of the Senate. Hillary, you'll remember, was the first major Democrat to throw Lieberman's independent candidacy under the bus, promising to back whoever the eventual nominee is. While that was the politically pragmatic move for her, it was painful to Joe and she didn't like doing it. So when he buttonholed her and asked if she could airlift in Bill to generate some good press, she readily agreed. As attractive as Tom's speculation that Clinton is trying to kill the independent candidacy may be, this is really just an instance of the establishment working to protect its friends. Would that they cared enough about the seat, the party, and the Democratic base to actually pressure Lieberman to drop the independent candidacy.
--Ezra Klein
