Joe Lieberman: The 11th Hour Democrat?

Man, Joe Lieberman really doesn't want to lose his seat...

Down in the polls significantly, Sen. Lieberman is desperate to prove that a) he is not a tool of the Bush administration and that, b) he can so be critical of the Iraq war! Or so is my reading of this shocker from Raw Story- Lieberman expressed support for those who are calling for the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld. Said Lieberman, "Rumsfeld serves at the pleasure of the President. But, I can tell you this, if I were President, I would say 'Thank you, but we need some new leadership at the Pentagon.'"

This is in stark contrast to previous comments by Lieberman implying that Rumsfeld's critics were dead wrong and that mere criticism itself will endanger the war. And quite surreal considering the Senator was rumored to be a replacement for Sec. Rumsfeld down the line.

Make no mistake- this is all about Tuesday's primary and his attempt to save his drowning campaign.

Josh Marshall looks at that race as it stands 5 days away and concludes that Sen. Lieberman is toast. I say that it's probably closer than the polls indicate. He predicts, for what its worth, that Lieberman will also not follow through on his threat to run as an Independent. If that is the case, it will only be if the Democratic party and friends can convince him to quietly walk away, because he really seems to believe that the U.S. Senate cannot possibly survive without him. Marshall does share my belief that it was Lieberman's egotistical decision to plan a preemptive Independent run in the first place that sealed his fate with voters. He ran this race in the absolute worst possible, almost going out of his way to reinforce every negative opinion people have developed of him.

And hey, when all else fails, fight dirty. Examples- here, here, and here.

Finally, Firedoglake's Christy Smith makes the case for Ned Lamont, as opposed to just Lieberman opposition.

UPDATE: Peter Beinart defends Lieberman's integrity... circa 1991. Ummm, what year is it, Pete?

[PS- U.S. troops in Iraq say civil war is already underway there. And we're the babysitter.

See also previous entry- Meanwhile, In Iraq...]