DAVIS: Obama, Lieberman and ‘the Hug’

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

On Tuesday night, President Obama walked down the aisle of the House of Representatives, en route to deliver his first speech to a joint session of Congress, shaking the hands of Republican and Democratic members.

He saw Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, shook his hand and then hugged him. This despite Mr. Lieberman’s support for the Republican, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, in the fall election.

Two days later, a group of self-described liberal bloggers, backed by a major labor union and MoveOn.Org., announced a new political action committee called “Accountability Now.”

According to the New York Times report, the group planned on raising money to recruit “liberal candidates for challenges against more centrist Democrats currently in Congress,” such as the more moderate House “Blue Dog Democrats” (even though virtually all them supported the Obama stimulus bill).

The founders are the some of the same folks who made a huge deal on the blogosphere out of Mr. Lieberman allowing himself to be kissed on the cheek by then-President Bush when Mr. Bush was walking down the same aisle in the House to deliver his 2006 State of the Union speech.

During the 2006 Democratic primary in Connecticut, supporters of Mr. Lieberman’s opponent, a former Republican named Ned Lamont, egged on by these same bloggers, built a paper mache model of “the Kiss” to rev up anger against Mr. Lieberman by anti-Bush Connecticut Democratic voters.

The irony for me, seeing “the Hug” as a Lieberman friend and supporter who remembered the viciousness of “the Kiss” issue used against Mr. Lieberman in the primary was - well, to be completely honest - delicious.

These two events - “the Hug” and, two days later, the announcement of this new “Accountability Now” group - may not seem significant in the great scheme of things. But they may actually signify potentially a serious philosophical divide within the Democratic Party.

On one side are Mr. Obama and other traditional liberals who are committed to progressive policies, but who know that the Democratic center and Republican moderates are necessary to build an enduring governing coalition for fundamental change in the country.

On the other side are certain bloggers and groups, who call themselves liberals but whose objectives, as stated to the Times, seem to be the ideological cleansing of the Democratic Party - eliminating anyone who doesn’t always meet their definition of liberalism on every issue.

The Obama hug, therefore, emblemized this philosophical difference.

It wasn’t the first time Mr. Obama had reached out to Mr. Lieberman. Recall that during his transition period, the president-elect recommended to Senate Democrats that they neither oust Mr. Lieberman from their caucus, nor severely discipline him for his endorsement of Mr. McCain. This recommendation was criticized by many liberal bloggers and some of the liberal cable-TV hosts and guests, such as MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow.

But Mr. Obama’s recommendation concerning Mr. Lieberman was quickly vindicated. Just days before “the Hug,” Mr. Lieberman had provided his crucial vote in support of Mr. Obama’s economic-stimulus bill. Perhaps more importantly, he worked closely with his friend, Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who helped Mr. Obama get over the magic number of 61 votes to pass the legislation.

I waited for Ms. Maddow, whose articulate and forceful voice for liberal positions I often appreciate, to concede that perhaps Mr. Lieberman had come through for Mr. Obama and the Democratic Party and thus she had been wrong about wanting him ousted from the Democratic caucus. I am still waiting.

Story Continues →