To blame Senator Reid for allowing Senator Lieberman to continue to serve as the chair of the Homeland Security Committee is to deny the reality. It was President-elect Obama who saved Lieberman from being stripped of the chairmanship.
The Hill reports:
Obama is wielding his newfound political dominance to its fullest extent and leaving his fingerprints almost daily on decisions that are not technically his — such as shaping Democratic congressional action on the auto industry rescue.
Soon after Election Day, Obama told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in a telephone call that he wanted Lieberman to stay in the Democratic Conference, taking the momentum away from efforts to snatch up his chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee — which could have driven him into the arms of the Republican Conference.
The call for reconciliation with Lieberman, who attacked Obama as unfit for the presidency, represents the first clear example of Obama’s influence among Senate Democrats and his willingness to stiff-arm his Democratic base, which had been calling for Lieberman’s head.
"He single-handedly delivered change today," said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), one of Obama’s closest Senate allies. "The old politics would be revenge, punishment, retribution. The new politics would be, ‘Let’s get busy and solve some problems.’ "
McCaskill was one of several of Obama’s senior lieutenants who made the case to keep Lieberman in his chairmanship during a closed-door caucus meeting, where nearly two hours were devoted to debating the renegade’s future. Fellow Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin, one of Obama’s closest friends in the Senate, voiced support for Lieberman, as did Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who is reportedly under consideration for a Cabinet position.
President-elect Obama also helped framing the debate about Senator Lieberman, to quote Senator McCaskill, "The old politics would be revenge, punishment, retribution. The new politics would be, ‘Let’s get busy and solve some problems."
It is clear that the turning point was the telephone conversation between President-elect Obama and Majority Leader Reid. If you compare Senator Reid's statement about Lieberman before and after this phone call, you will notice the difference of tone.
"The point was made that President-elect Obama wanted this, and a number of statements were made on his behalf, and I was candidly persuaded by that," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who had previously criticized Lieberman for his campaign role.
In the end, President-elect Obama plays the good-cop; Senator Reid the bad cop. This is depressing, but it is the TRUTH.