Lieberman regrets some Obama remarks

by James Oliphant

Move over James Bond. There's a new indestructible action hero: Joe Lieberman.

The senator from Connecticut, who was vilified by Democratic activists for his support of Republican presidential nominee John McCain, escaped serious retribution from his Democratic Senate colleagues Tuesday.

Lieberman will remain in the Democratic caucus and he will keep his chairmanship of the prestigious Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. As part of a resolution adopted overwhelmingly by Democratic senators, he will only have to forfeit chairmanship of an Environment and Public Works subcommittee. He will keep chairmanship of another Armed Services subcommittee.

The result is a far cry from the sentiments echoed by many Democrats after Lieberman spoke at the Republican National Convention this summer and suggested Barack Obama wasn't ready to be president. McCain seriously considered Lieberman as his running mate.

At the time, the talk was about expelling Lieberman from the Democratic caucus and stripping him of the Homeland Security chair.

Lieberman is a registered independent, but works with Democrats in the Senate. He was a Democratic lawmaker for two decades, however, before switching his affiliation in 2006 after losing the primary in Connecticut, and was the party's vice-presidential nominee eight years ago.

After the election, when Democrats gained a stronger grip on the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid met with Lieberman and seemed to believe then some serious punishment was required. For his part, Lieberman made noises about going over to the Republicans.

But there was no sign of that Tuesday, when Lieberman and Reid stood before the cameras following the caucus vote. Reid praised Lieberman's commitment to Democratic principles. "This was not a time for retribution," Reid said. "It was time for moving forward."

Lieberman said he regretted some of the statements he made about Obama during the campaign. And he credited the president-elect for calling on Lieberman to stay with the Democrats. Obama last week suggested that Lieberman should not be severely punished, which seemed to break the tide in Lieberman's favor.

"My hope is that he becomes a Democrat again," Sen. Dianne Fienstein (Calif.) said after the vote.

The resolution was sponsored by Sen. Christopher Dodd (Conn.), Ben Nelson (Neb.), Thomas Carper (Del.) and Ken Salazar (Colo.). It passed by a 42-13 margin, with the newly elected members of the Senate voting.

"The mood overall was 'Let's move on from here,'" Dodd said, adding, "we understand completely the frustration that a lot of Democrats feel."

Reid was also elected to another term as majority leader and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) was re-elected as the majority whip.