Joe Go

Where does Joe Goe? It's a tough situation for the Democrats - who want to punish Joe Lieberman for supporting McCain, but who will be able to use his help on some key votes down the road.

Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who spent the weekend campaigning with Republican presidential nominee John McCain, has returned to Washington to face the music.

Lieberman, now an independent but for years a Democratic senator, still caucuses with Democrats and chairs the prestigious Homeland Security Committee.

That may change however. Democrats were not happy with Lieberman's support of his friend, McCain, and especially for his appearance at the Republican National Convention, where he questioned Barack Obama's fitness to be commander-in-chief. (See above.)

Lieberman met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Thursday. After the meeting, Reid released a statement: "Today Senator Lieberman and I had the first of what I expect to be several conversations. No decisions have been made. While I understand that Senator Lieberman has voted with Democrats a majority of the time, his comments and actions have raised serious concerns among many in our caucus," Reid said. "I expect there to be additional discussions in the days to come, and Senator Lieberman and I will speak to our caucus in two weeks to discuss further steps."

But do the Dems still need Lieberman? It appears that they will have 56 solid votes in the next Senate, so a majority isn't a problem. But Lieberman's assistance will be crucial to reach the 60 votes necessary to overcome a filibuster, so Reid will have to play this carefully.

In Their Heads

Can you believe how flustered the Democrats are?

Harry Reid's slip is only the latest sign. It was just last weekend that Barack referred to "My Muslim Faith." Now, it's "President McCain."

The slip came after (Reid) aggressively linked the Republican presidential nominee to the sitting President Bush, and suggested McCain would be a reckless commander in chief.

It's the Sarah Effect. She's got them flustered. And understanding that they're going to lose.

“We live in a dangerous and unpredictable world,” Reid said in an address on the Senate floor. “Our dangerous world calls for leaders with sound judgment, not those with a temperament prone to recklessness. … Will we stick with the same failed, out-of-touch foreign policy of George Bush, Dick Cheney and John McCain, which military experts and countless authors call the worst foreign policy in our nation’s history?”

The attempts to link McCain with the existing leadership are sounding sort of shrill lately. Sarah has moved McCain beyond that vulnerability.

But then Reid got a bit ahead of himself, as he began to describe Obama’s foreign policy toward Al Qaeda in Pakistan.

“President McCain even called the Obama approach naive,” Reid said.

President McCain. It has a nice ring to it... so nice, that even the Democratic leadership is getting used to it.