Will Obama Opt To Play Hardball In Dealing With Sen. Joe Lieberman?

Will he or won’t he? Will independent Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman — admired by some for his courage and reviled by others who see him as a turncoat — turn down what seems to be an offer he can’t refuse and refuse to caucus with the Democrats and go with the Republicans rather than face consequences for his campaign 2008 behavior?

Will he or won’t he? Will President Elect Barack Obama, who clearly was irked by Lieberman’s support for Republican candidate Sen. John McCain during the campaign (Lieberman joined in and/or did not dispute GOP suggestions that a vote for Obama might welcome another terrorist attack, that Obama might welcome defeat in Iraq and that Obama was essentially a socialist), opt to play Chicago style hardball against Lieberman through a surrogate such as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, or will Obama opt to play post partisan live and let live?

This is one of the key dramas now unfolding in Congress as some angry Democrats want payback for what they see as Lieberman’s constant and strong support of McCain, which could have hurt some Democrats’ election if McCain had won big. McCain had considered naming Lieberman his Vice President but the Arizona Senator’s advisers had warned that the pro-choice, non-Republican Lieberman’s candidacy could spark a floor fight at the GOP convention.

The news stories are murky but you can tell something is afoot.

Lieberman’s fellow Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd insists Obama wouldn’t want to go along with efforts to get Lieberman:

U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd said Friday that President-elect Obama would not want one of his party’s first major post-election issues to be a messy fight over Joseph Lieberman’s status as a Democrat.

Lieberman’s political future is uncertain because some Democrats want to punish him for supporting Republican John McCain in the race against Obama. But Lieberman and Obama have been Democratic colleagues in the U.S. Senate for four years, Dodd noted, and Obama generally resists confrontations if a compromise can be reached.

“What does Barack Obama want?” Dodd rhetorically asked reporters Friday in Hartford. “He’s talked about reconciliation, healing, bringing people together. I don’t think he’d necessarily want to spend the first month of this president-elect period, this transition period, talking about a Senate seat, particularly if someone is willing to come forward and is willing to be a member of your family in the caucus in that sense.”

But it may not be that simple.

Lieberman met with Reid last week, and emerged to say he’s pondering his options. Does that mean caucusing with the Republicans? Or joining the Republican party?

Either way, some Democrats, such as The American Prospect’s Ezra Klein, believe this is the last straw and that Lieberman should not be allowed keep his seat as chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Klein writes:

Lieberman wants to keep his committee as a hedge against retribution. So long as he controls Governmental Affairs, he’s not the sort of guy Democrats want on a warpath against them. Elsewhere, they can take him seriously, or screw him over, largely as they please, which most would probably find a preferable alternative. But I basically side with the “kick him out” folks. Unlike Arlen Specter, whose minor heterodoxies ended with a pathetic show of groveling and a solemn promise to never, ever, in a million years, ever say an unkind word about one of Bush’s judicial nominees, Lieberman’s major betrayal of the Democratic Party has been accompanied by a promise to bolt to the Republicans Party if he’s not sufficiently stroked. That’s not the sort of guy you want in a position of oversight.

So now the question becomes, will Obama “save” Lieberman? The Politico reports:

Lieberman has been threatened by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) with losing his gavel because rank-and-file Senate Democrats are furious over Lieberman’s support for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) presidential candidacy, including an speech on McCain’s behalf at the Republican National Convention.

In a 45-minute meeting on Thursday, Reid told Lieberman that he could lose control of his panel, although he did not say it was a done deal, according to Senate sources. Lieberman is mounting a campaign to save his job, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is already wooing Lieberman to join the Republican Conference, which could change the calculus for Reid and the Democratic leadership in how tough they want to be with Lieberman.

Now some Senate insiders are speculating that Obama could save Lieberman’s job by issuing a statement saying he “forgives Joe” and that everyone needs to work together for the good of the country.

“It would give Reid some [political] cover and let him do what he wan’ts to do,” said an aide to one top Senate Democrat, meaning Reid doesn’t want to take action against Lieberman.

On the other hand, if Obama doesn’t go along with a clamor for some Democrats to give Lieberman some consequences, he could risk sending a signal to his opponents down the road outside of his party or inside of it that he can be easily rolled and they won’t pay a price.

And Lieberman? He is talking with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell about the possibility of Lieberman caucusing with the GOP.

And Reid? He is reportedly considering putting the question to the Democratic caucus. but would prefer to work it out than deliver Lieberman gift-wrapped to the Republicans…who would love to get him.

So all eyes are now on Obama. What signal will he send? If it seems like he wants live and let live will that tempt foes to oppose him feeling he’d cave in and there’d be no negative impact on them? If he clamps down will his critics charge that it’s proof that he’s just one more revenge-seeking, old school politician who talked a good new politics game but played an ancient one?

Meanwhile, there are the questions to ponder about the GOP.

What does it reveal about the party that McCain couldn’t pick Lieberman — or about McCain that he didn’t go with his gut and battle for his choice? McCain’s gut didn’t seem perfect in campaign 2008. So if he had chosen Lieberman would have still lost? Won? Lost by more? Or by less?

Meanwhile, all eyes are on the President Elect to see if he gives a signal before Democrats weigh whether Lieberman’s staunch support for Democratic stands on domestic issues outweighs his opposition to Democrats on foreign policy issues and his active role in not just supporting McCain but echoing the McCain’s campaign’s talking points that at times seemingly questioned Obama’s very patriotism.

Cartoon by Bob Englehart, The Hartford Courant