I’m no fan of Connecticut Senator and former presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman, who is too conservative for most out of state Democrats, but despite the way he has alienated many in his party, does it make sense for Joe to become George W. Bush’s Secretary of Defense after Donald Rumsfeld? In this time of increased partisanship, and with the disastrous handling of Iraq and Afghanistan, on the surface it may be hard to see the upside, especially when Joe Lieberman is thought to be secure in his re-election to the senate in 2006. Plus, Connecticut Republican Governor Jodi Rell could fill Lieberman’s seat with a Republican, providing even more GOP clout in the U.S. Senate.
But that assumes a lot. It assumes that Lieberman thinks he could move to the left convincingly for a future presidential run (it’s hard to imagine that based on his record). It assumes that Lieberman would get blame for what happened under him for his years as Secretary of Defense (when Donald Rumsfeld could easily shoulder much of the blame). Further, it assumes that Lieberman is not shooting for the top spot, and that he actually cares about his party in the senate (or otherwise), when he has now run twice for the executive branch and is a notable conservative critic of his party in defense of the Bush Administration.
In other words, it sounds like Joe would be making the right move for his political career by becoming Bush’s Secretary of Defense - especially since it’s hard to imagine that Iraq or Afghanistan could get much worse - and there’s some potential that they could get much better (it wouldn’t take much improvement for that, after all). Plus, unless the law is changed, George W. Bush is not the candidate you are running against in 2008 - and it isn’t Vice President Dick Cheney either. Joe could claim a healing, bi-partisan role that few others could in 2008. If Joe gets the offer of Bush’s Secretary of Defense, I wouldn’t bet against him taking it. It may be his only opportunity to grow for quite a while - and the best positioning Joe has available too. Secretary of Defense is the brightest hope I see for Joementum - although I don’t see Lieberman having a “surprising finish” with it.
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