It will be tempting to believe that Joe Lieberman's defeat in the Connecticut primary means something profound about the future of the war or the future of the Democrats. It may indeed mark a turning point in the public's patience with the president's war-management, but we'll have to wait till November to confirm that more generally. The primary defeat wasn't a rout, after all. And Lieberman, even among Democrats, was a special case. Hawkish Democrats, like Clinton, have managed to maintain support for the war against Islamist terror, while criticizing the president's staggering ineptness. Lieberman seemed unable to do this. He appeared more interested in becoming Rumsfeld's successor than in getting re-elected in blue-state Connecticut. And it's worth recalling: many Republicans have been more critical of the Bush administration's war decisions than Lieberman. Lieberman is to George Will's and Bill Buckley's and Chuck Hagel's and Bill Kristol's right on this. His position that any criticism of a president is inappropriate in wartime is also simply Hewittian in its proneness. At least that's my instant response to his political demise as a Democrat. I'm not crying any tears. Do you know anyone who is?
(Photo: Bob Falcetti/Getty.)