The two call each other John and Joe, and even though McCain is an
Arizona Republican and Lieberman is a Democrat from Connecticut, they
often cross party lines to work together _ sometimes to the chagrin of
their peers.
When McCain later told the gathering of the world's
top defense officials that "every option must remain on the table,"
when dealing with Iran on its nuclear program because "there's only one
thing worse than military action, that is a nuclear-armed Iran,"
Lieberman did not elaborate much.
"I agree with John," he told the gathering, tossing out his prepared
remarks on the Iran issue to spend more time instead lobbying for
greater international involvement in Sudan.
"It is not unusual
for Senator McCain and I to agree on matters of policy, but as people
in the United States know, when we do agree it doesn't mean we are
speaking for either the Democratic or Republican parties," he said to
laughter. "But in this case I do believe we are speaking for the
overwhelming majority."
Ned Lamont hasn't formed his committee yet so you can't give to him yet, but you can give to Blogpac, and that money will go to Lieberman's opponent.
UPDATE: Oh. My. God. Lieberman is tacitly supporting right-wing Republican John McCain for President.
"Every now and again we're asked that, and McCain
always says we couldn't do it because each of us would want to be vice
president," Lieberman told The Associated Press. "And my presidential campaign days are over _ I hope his aren't."
The Dems damn well need a strategy on this one.
You know why? Because to Bush, the strategic implications of hitting
Iran won't matter -- if they decide to strike militarily, they will
time it nicely for the 2006 midterms, and use it as a cudgel against
Dems.
The Dems don't need much of an actual policy stance on this --they
have no power, and they are not going to be consulted with in any
honest way by this administration.
But they damn well need a political stance on this. I'm not sure
what it'd be: probably that a military strike is on the table, with
international support only, but that they have grave misgivings that
Commander Codpiece could actually do it right. He has the reverse Midas
touch -- everything Bush touches turns to shit.
And we need to be prepared for the crippling oil embargo if Bush does strike. The Iranians have at their disposal the following retalitaory
options: stopping all oil shipments out of the Gulf, a Shiite uprising
in Iraq, a possible Iranian invasion of southern Iraq, missile strikes
against Saudi oil infrastructure.....
This is some serious shit. The loyal oppostion (we Dems) must
continuely press and challenge the administration to be clear,
transparent and forthwright in addressing this issue. Posturing for
electoral or PR advantage - not acceptable.
Remember, if we attack Iran in any way, we will be attacking the
Islamic world (once again) Against that backdrop, this week's cartoon
riots might just seem, well, cartoonish.
In other words, there will be no good options, just some that are slightly less miserable than others.
In other news, the guy down the block from me with a huge collection of
guns has heard that I'm considering the purchase of a derringer. Word
is he's planning a massive assault on my home to make the neighborhood
safer.